Birdhouse In Your Soul
by lv100dratini
Summary: The story follows a strange individual on the pursuit of millennium items. What happens when she runs into a boy who is in possession of one of them? What happens when said boy discovers that she has one as well? Takes place in season 0 in the anime and the original manga. Yugi/OC/Yami Yugi
1. Chapter 1

_"I beg you, Gods of Egypt..._

_Send someone to protect my son..._

_Great Evil is still upon us..._

_I won't be here for long... Please... My son..._

_Have someone by your side..."_

A knock on the door was heard. The sun streamed through the black curtains that covered the open window. The knocking became a pounding, "Open up in there!" The shouts from the angered voice from the other side of the door was so loud you could hear it from the outside and through the walls of the building.

"Your rent is overdue!"

"I know." A girl grumbled to herself as she was climbing up her dorm building, "I was gonna leave this town anyways." She hopped onto the roof and quietly made her way to the stairway. Seeing as the landlord and possibly security too busy on the top floor, she can smoothly make her exit through the back without anyone noticing. It is currently nine in the morning, she had less than thirty minutes to catch the train to travel to her destination.

"Hopefully, I can make it there on time before they make their move." Though, little did she know, there were eyes watching her in the shadows.

[The next day - 12:15 pm - Domino City - Domino High School]

"Ah... That was a long lesson." a small boy yawned out, stretching out his legs and popping his back. He looked down at his treasure hanging down from his neck. With a smile he brushed his thumb over the "eye". "I still can't believe I completed this last night and my wish... it came true!" He tapped his feet in excitement. This is Yugi Mutou, a sixteen year old with a five thousand year old ancient puzzle. According to the stories his grandfather tells him, this puzzle was found in Egypt and was said to possess great powers.

"Yugi!" And that's his best friend, Jounouchi.

Yugi looked up at him and blushed in embarrassment, "Oh...J-jounouchi, did you see.. You know.." He looked around to see if there was anyone staring at them, "The video?" The last part almost came out as a whisper.

Of course, Jounouchi understood what he meant, "Oh that," His eyes narrowed, "Well I squinted but... I couldn't see any of the important stuff!" He shouted, not caring who heard him like Yugi, "Damn mosaic gets in the way with everything!" He shrugged, "Though, I'll lend it to you sometime, Yug."

Yugi's face got even more redder, "Huh? R-really?"

"Yo! Check it out!" A student shouted looking over the glass window, "There's a television van parked outside of the school!"

Others gathered in, "You think someone famous is here?"

"I doubt it!"

"Why here?"

"Why not!"

Jounouchi scratched his chin as he and Yugi listened in, "I wonder who can it be, Yugi?"

His little friend shrugged, "Beats me, wanna head down and check it out?" And with that Jounouchi nodded in excitement and followed him out the door.

[Meanwhile]

"Hi, I'm here to take out a loan."

The bank clerk looked over to her next client. A young woman who doesn't look old enough to even be considered an adult. Though, she was dressed as if she were being interviewed for a new job. Hair done and with light make-up, she stood tall with confidence (actually those are her heels) and piercing gold eyes, there was no denying that this girl was attractive. This has to be a joke.

"Do you have any sort of identification? Are you even old enough?" The clerk disdainfully questioned sizing her up once again.

The girl didn't falter and handed over an American passport and identification, "I'm here on an education program ma'am, I was told to take out my loan here." She explained with such a disgusting polite tone.

The clerk processed the information and was surprised that this was legit information, "My apologies, Miss Natalie Larsen, I should have known you're even the third student who stepped in."

_Natalie_ shook her head, "It is no problem, ma'am."

"I just thought you were a 14 year old and all-"

"Nonsense!" Natalie laughed with her, "I get that all the time!"

"Oh dear you best enjoy looking so young!" The clerk gave Natalie back her identification cards and along with a new bank card, "You best be going! Good luck!"

"Thank you, ma'am, have a good day!"

As soon as she stepped out of the bank, Natalie let out an exasperated sigh, "Geez! Fourteen? Really? I just turned sixteen." Her hand reached to rub her eyes but stopped herself, "Gah, I hate wearing this as well." Her heels clacking on the side walk she continued to the next place she was supposed to be a few hours ago, not even caring that she's dressed up.

[Back to Domino High]

Anzu had joined in on the group and now everyone was talking about this supposed "idol". "So apparently, there are rumors that we were supposed to have a new student today!"

"Do you think it's the idol in disguise?!" Jounouchi exclaimed as if he tied a theory together in his brain, "It must be true!"

"Jounouchi.." Yugi looked at him as if he lost it, "Don't you think the television van is here for another reason, though?"

"Yeah it sounds way too coincidental." Anzu chimed in, agreeing with Yugi. Jounouchi on the other hand wasn't buying it, "Oh come on! Yugi, you were right there! You must have saw something!"

Yugi shook his head, " I didn't see anything."

And with that Jounouchi stood up, "I'll show you all! I'm gonna find the mysterious idol!" Jounouchi then charged out of the classroom and left a guilt-ridden Yugi.

"I guess I've said something wrong." Yugi muttered to himself and decided to follow his friend out the classroom door after excusing himself from Anzu.

A boy bumped into Yugi and gasped, "Oh hey, are you Yugi?"

Yugi looked up at who was speaking to him, his mood was still down, "Hi, who are you?"

The guy grinned weirdly and with fake enthusiasm he introduced himself, "My name is Fujita!"

"Nice to meet you."

"I heard you were looking for this idol and I know where she'll be!"

Yugi's eyes suddenly lit up, "Are you serious?" He couldn't believe it! Maybe then Jounouchi can get his satisfaction now, "There really is an idol here in the school?"

"Duh! She's too shy to be around people..." An idea sparked in the boy's eyes, "Tell you what! I'll introduce you two!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, you'll get along great!" The boy started in the direction, "Come behind the gym and come alone, okay?"

"Okay!" Yugi shouted excitedly as he went back to his classroom. The boy, Fujita, couldn't contain his laughter and he darted off to the location, "What a naive moron!"

[Back of the gym]

"I am so screwed and lost..." The girl from earlier fussed around the school not knowing which was the building to register, "Why can't I just have some sign to point me to that one direction so that I don't have to act like a human being, a student in high school!" She looked around already pissed that she passed several tennis courts and now she's on the side of some gymnasium building. Then suddenly, a jolt was sent through her spine. She felt the same sensation when she discovered her first millennium item, "It's here." She felt breathless and at the same time a weird sensation of joy, "My search is over." Not even caring that she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking. She had to follow it, "The item is mine." She hissed under her breath and nearly fell over as she bumped into someone.

Finally snapping out of it she looked down at the boy she bumped into, "My apologies, kid, I wasn't paying attention."

"Kid?" He had an offensive tone, "I'm si- Oh..." He stopped talking as they made eye contact...well she broke it to stare at what was on his head, "Wow... is that hair?" She stepped closer to him and ran her fingers through it. Yugi was now annoyed. First she called him a kid and now she's teasing his hair, "Stop it, will you!" He turned red at his attitude, even though she was teasing, she was very pretty, "I'm sorry but I don't want to be teased!"

She withdrew her hands and had an amused grin, "Again, I'm sorry I just never seen hair like that except in live concerts, though I'd imagine they would have loads of gel but yours is so natural and unexpectedly soft." She cleared her throat and send him a friendly smile, "Okay, I'm babbling, I hope you're not in a hurry, I'm kinda lost." She observed him as she wait for his answer. He was about six inches shorter than she was but then again she was still wearing heels. He had a bouquet of flowers in front of him and she blushed, "Oh drat, I'm keeping you away from a date aren't I?"

"Huh?" He looked at the flowers and realized why he was here in the first place, "Ah! You must be the idol!"

She arched a brow at him, "The what now?"

"There you are, Yugi!" Fujita shouted running towards us, "I told you to come alone!" He looked at the two and blushed when he saw her, "Whoa... uh, boss, what do we do about the woman?" He said to the hidden mic.

~"Don't worry about it, we'll cut her out of the camera just give the boy a quick beating already! Camera is already rolling!"

Yugi smiled brightly, "Ah, Fujita-san, we found each other already!"

Natalie stepped back for a moment and noticed the bushes rumbling and then that's when she saw the lens of a camera, "Is this a set up or something?" She muttered to herself as Yugi (finally learned the boy with weird hair's name) was too busy trying to talk to this new fellow they both encountered, Fujita.

Fujita crept closer to Yugi, "Actually, Yugi, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

Natalie's head pulsed signifying danger and her eyes widen as this boy just upper cutted her little companion. The bouquet of flowers flew as he sent another blow to Yugi's face. Natalie growled, "Hey, asshole! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"No one asked you, bitch!"

Her eye twitched, "What did you say?" Her foot unsheathed itself from her heel and she kicked it at him. The heel of her shoe landed perfectly on this jerk's forehead making him release Yugi. She took off the unnecessary jewelry around her neck and twirled it at a perfect speed to throw it at the attacker's face.

"AGH! Boss! She hit me IN. THE. EYE!"

Once her target backed away and it was safe to get closer, she rushed over to Yugi, "Hey, kid, you okay?"

"I'm not a kid, Idol." Yugi weakly muttered, looking at her with one eye open, and she chuckled, "Well that tells me something."

"Ok, that's enough now." A new voice was heard, "Hey, I said cut! We don't need this teenage sappy shit here!"

Natalie or Idol stood up and helped Yugi steady himself as well, "So you must be another asshole."

"I'm a director, I was filming an episode of _"Bullied Child"_ and you ruined my cut." He pointed to Yugi, "We still need him and you owe me another bully."

She stood in front of Yugi, "You need to get the hell away from here before you piss me off even more!"

"Oh! Feisty, aren't you princess?" The director cackled, "You should be happy for your little friend. He is now a hero!"

"I've dealt with men like you before." She prepared for another attack, "Ah-ah! Missy! You should think twice before hitting me, you have a camera in front of your face!"

She looked at the man filming her and didn't realize the director grabbing her in a choke hold, "Not a word about this! Got it?!"

She didn't say anything but glared at him, even though she was running out of air, "Or else I'll display your humiliation!"

Gasping out the remaining air, she suddenly realized the camera filmed up her dress. He let her fall to the ground and the camera kept rolling. She was beyond mad but she couldn't do anything but intake the loss of air.

"Let's get out of here." The director called out to his crew, "And remember kids, you can't resist the power of the camera!"

She got up quickly with gritted teeth and ran the opposite direction not even bothering to get her other heel or remembering someone else who was with her.

A dark presence looked over the left behind heel and picked it up, "Idol." He muttered under his breath and he heard the tires screech of the television van. The puzzle from his neck glimmered as he followed the van wearing a mask of a predator.

[Sometime at night]

In the shadows, a figure skipped through the night. Building upon building she wore black lightweight harem pants and everything else dark to make it easier to hide. The only thing you can see are the small gold gauntlets she wore that shined under the moon light. The lower part of her face was covered with a plain black face mask. Her hair had been pulled back and hidden under a head wrap with a feather tucked underneath it. She basically passed off as an assassin. She kept a vengeful eye on a particular person in this city.

"No one, NO ONE, humiliates me and gets away with it." She growled as she leaped towards the ground.

The media corporate building that her target was located at was just around the corner and she's noticed some cars exiting the parking lot. She climbed onto the ceiling and crawled across it scanning every employees face. Her face almost had a satisfactory glance as she saw the director being one of the last ones out with another man in a suit complimenting him on his bully episode. Her teeth clenched in anger as she was reminded of earlier events. She hopped down behind an unused media van. As she was about to charge in on the kill, a boy appeared suddenly behind the director and his car.

"I've been waiting for you, Director-san."

Startled the man turned and realized who it was, "Hey, you're that brat Yugi! What the hell? It's the middle of the night." He waved the young boy away, "Go home! Or don't tell me you want an actor's fee?"

From a distance, she watched with narrow eyes. _"This is the same Yugi that got beat up relentlessly?"_ Disagreeing with herself she watched him. His face carried this manic expression, his hair was more wild and frantic, and there was this familiar dark aura around him it was spreading everywhere. Too much of it would've made her feel nauseous. Then she gasped at what she saw hanging around his neck. There was no denying it. This is what she was sensing back at the school when she bumped into the strange boy. She must have not noticed it when he had the bouquet of flowers in front of it. Though this dark aura, it was too much now, she didn't sense this much when she was with him at school. It was as if this new person was lying dormant.

"Director, you've stumbled into the domain of my influence." Her thoughts snapped back to them as this "Dark Yugi" spoke, "Therefore, you must become my opponent..." His hand reached for something in his pocket, "In a game!" He revealed a die.

"Game?" The director stared at him as if he were a weirdo.

"Since the era of Ancient Egypt, dice have been used to determine men's fate." Dark Yugi explained, "At the time they were called 'Astragalos'."

While twiddling her fingers and staring at the two, she wondered where Yugi gets this information from. He is correct, though. How ancient Egyptians constructed those dice were from the hoof bones of animals. Yugi doesn't seem like a person who would research on what Egyptians would do way back in the day. Or was he? She made two theories. This boy in front of her could be Yugi's secret inner darkness fueled by the millennium item around his neck. Which makes sense, wearing an innocent mask all day and then be this bad guy at night. Or he could be a different persona caused by endless amounts of suffering over the years. Either way it doesn't seem like she was gonna get her questions answered. The shadow game had began...

Dark Yugi lets go of the dice to roll freely on the ground. The rules are simple. Whatever number Yugi lands on, his opponent need to get a lower number to win. He'll win regardless if he were to roll the same number as Yugi. And Yugi lands on... A six?!

"Looks like I've won!" The director barked in laughter, "I don't even have to roll anymore!"

She was surprised that Yugi kept calm about it, as a matter of fact he was smirking like a loon!

"You seem so sure of yourself but the game isn't over yet."

"Ugh, fine." The director rolled his eyes and grabbed the die, "I'll just make a hole in your face while I'm at it!"

He shoved the die towards Dark Yugi's smug face but what they both didn't expect was a flying blade coming out of nowhere. It passed Yugi's face by a few inches and cut the die in half. Both of the guy's faces just saw the two halves of the die land in front of them while the blade broke the glass of the director's car.

"Not a smart move, Director." She chuckled underneath her mask, "I believe you have lost the game."

"Huh?" His eyes looked to the ground and saw the die faces revealing a one and a six, "Seven?! Bullshit! If you hadn't interfered I would've won!"

She looked to the dark one who was watching her and still trying to figure out who she was, "Men like him don't deserve the minor punishment of a penalty game."

"This man harmed and humiliated me and a friend, he doesn't need anything more than just a penalty besides he did not cheat the game."

"A shadow game to you is only a game to seek out justice, hm?" She brought out a millennium scale and grabbed the feather from her head, "Watch as we do this my way."

Her millennium scale shined and the feather was placed on one of the scales, "Millennium Scale, weigh this creature's heart!"

Suddenly, the room had gone dark and there was a shadow beast towering over the man. Just as she expect, it weighed more than the feather of Ma'at, "Now, fiend, I banish you to the shadow realm!"

"What?" The Director stared at her dumbfounded but through the gold light he saw a door open to reveal everything he feared. Dark hands grabbed him and yanked him away from his shell of a body. He cried trying to grab his mortal hand but was dragged into the darkness. The door shut once he was gone. The body of the director slumped to the ground and she put her item away and looked to Dark Yugi glaring at her.

"What have you done?"

"Something you should have done five minutes ago, then waste it on some stupid game."

"That's not how it works!" He growled at her and she only gave an amusement grin though he only saw it through her gold eyes, "Yugi, if I hadn't stepped in that die would've knocked an eye out and even if you had given him a penalty game his creature would've come at you out of rage."

He stopped glaring and just curiously stared at her, "Who are you anyway?"

"I can be a friend or a foe." She shrugged, "It just depends."

She walked away and disappeared into the shadows leaving a dumbstruck Yugi. She came all this way for that puzzle around his neck but didn't feel much to take it from him. She had weighed his heart with her millennium scale without him knowing. It balanced out with the feather of Ma'at. Perhaps she can get that puzzle another day. The boy with the strange hair seemed very interesting.

Dark Yugi had already walked away from the scene. Something about her seemed familiar and her holding an item that is much similar to his made him feel... Hopeful. He was already in his bedroom and stared at the shoe Yugi had on his desk. He then gasped to himself, "Idol..."

* * *

_Author here_

Hey guys, I don't really expect much of this story. Actually I wasn't supposed to upload this till I finished each chapter but I'm doing my friend a favor because she really really _really _insisted on reading it. In the meantime, I began writing this since December or actually scratch that... I've been entertaining the idea of making a fanfic of yugioh because before I've written one and didn't go anywhere with it. By the way, this one is based off of my old one on mibba so this reoccurring infamous "Natalie Larsen" still belongs to me haha I don't expect people catching on it here anyways since I hardly post on here just read. There is one yugioh fanfic here that I enjoy reading and it's one of the reasons that got me back into writing about it. Don't worry friend (you know who you are) this time I will finish it.

"But Nik that's exactly what you said about Captain America!"

Shhhh... let's not jinx it.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Upon the wish of the former pharaoh,_

_You will be reborn to walk this earth again_

_And again_

_And again..._

_Search your King..."_

The bus screeched to a stop in front of a teary eyed tri-colored hair boy who let out another yawn, "Today will be a fun day." He said to himself. He tried squeezing into the bus and looked for something to support himself with. Since there was no seat, Yugi had to rely on the people around him to keep himself balanced. A person caught his eye and he realized it was a kid from his class, Hanasaki. They both made eye contact and Yugi cheerfully greeted him, "Morning!"

The boy turned his head the opposite direction and ignored him. Yugi winced from the rejection but decided that Hanasaki must be shy about talking to other people (talk about optimism at its best).

~"We are sorry, but the bus must make an urgent stop!"

Yugi yelped and stumbled all the way to the back of the bus, "Ah sorry, sorry, sorry!" He apologized to those around him as he tried not to trip and fall over others. As soon as he was out of reach with everyone else, he was surprised that the back of the bus was almost empty. And he learned why once he heard this absurd sound coming from the back seat, "What's that sound?!" He tried covering his ears.

"That's dubstep." A voice from behind made him jolt with goosebumps and turned to reveal...

"Ah! Idol!" He blushed, though she wasn't all dressed up, her hair was plain tossed to one side, and she was not wearing make up like she did yesterday but he could still recognize those eyes that either made him want to tuck his tail and run or be struck by them. She almost looked like a normal kid if it weren't for her eyes but I guess that's what made her pretty or the fact that she's talking to him.

"Good morning, Yugi!" She chirped in happiness, "How are your bruises? I got some pain killers for you... that is if you're allergic to aspirin, then I can treat you to home remedies!"

"Ah, no no, it's fine, Idol!" He waved his hands in front of her wondering why on earth she would be so concerned about him.

"If you say so..." She grinned and asked with a wink, "So, how was your night?"

Yugi gave her a dumbfounded look, "Um... okay I suppose? I did homework and saw a movie with my grandpa." He explained trying to think back... Funny how some events couldn't come to his mind and she noticed it all too well.

_"So... either he's acting like nothing happened or he doesn't remember. That can happen, though I must keep an eye out for more."_

"Well that sounds nice."

Yugi kept looking behind the bus and gestured to the front, "Hey, Idol, let's go find some seats in the front."

This caused her to frown in confusion, "What's wrong with back here?"

"WAIT JUST A SEC, YUGI!"

She jumped at the unexpected call and could have sworn she saw Yugi's hair spiked up even more out of fright like a cat and she turned to see who had called him. There was an overgrown high school student with a strange Elvis styled hair (seriously what is up with this city and their hair styles). He gave Yugi a wicked grin that made her not want to trust the Elvis guy, "Take a load off, Yugi, there's a seat here." He patted on the empty space next to him, "And bring your pretty friend here as well." He sent a wink at her after he made his statement and she scowled. Yugi walked over with his head lowered and the scene reminded her of a beta dog being pushed around by the alpha male. She wondered where was his arrogant, big ballsy attitude now?

"How about you introduce me?" He let out a deep chuckle, "I doubt she's your girlfriend. Cousin maybe?" He kept looking at her and she felt disgusted as she can see him practically salivating.

She rolled her eyes, "Don't excite yourself, big guy," crossing her arms she stayed standing as she figured Elvis wouldn't let her sit next to Yugi but only on the other side of him, "Maybe I am dating him."

Both Yugi and Elvis looked at her like if she had three heads. Yugi felt like if his buckled collar was on too tight and he couldn't breath now that he was getting too hot at the thought of her being his... His thoughts came to an abrupt stop when he heard Souzouji cackle at her, "You can't be serious!"

She shrugged, "It doesn't matter cause it's non of your business." She cleared her throat and walked over to Yugi, she bent forward and kissed his burning forehead, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting off the bus," She sent a wink at Yugi, "See you later, kid."

First she's nice, then she flats out surprises him with a kiss, and now she's teasing him. This girl is unbelievable and frustrating! And they have only known each other for about two hours! He noticed how quiet Souzouji had gotten, if that was possible. Hell even his music lowered down a bit. Yugi felt him sizing him up, "Hm... Yugi."

Yugi hated himself for flinching.

"It seems as you're becoming a man now." He chuckled, "So you won't have any trouble as to joining me in my "All Night Solo" live show that's coming up soon?"

Yugi inwardly groaned at the thought of it. Souzouji does this every month the same damn thing and sings horribly in front of people. He's heard so many stories of how people don't go to school for the next three days because of it. They all said that his voice is...

"Now then, Yugi! Since you are such a big man now I want you to sell these tickets for me!" Souzouji shoved a handful of tickets at Yugi for the price of two thousand yen each ticket, "You better make sure you get a lot of girls!"

Yugi looked down in despair, he didn't know how to get out of this one, hell he can't.

"And make sure your _girlfriend_ is there too!" He laughed, "Who knows? I may steal her away with my voice!"

The bus had arrived at the school and Yugi was about to make his escape but Souzouji still had him, "Yugi, the party is in three days," he cracks his knuckles, "You'll know what happens if you don't sell those tickets."

[at the school]

"Ah, so you're the new student that everyone keeps talking about." A man who seem to be in his early thirties chuckled examining the paper work he just received, "Are the rumors true that you're famous?"

"No, I'm not really famous. I think it's the fact that my name is Idol that everyone just assumed it was a different term." She giggled while fiddling the ends of her hair, "I'm surprised that you're American, sir."

"Oh, yes, I just moved here this past year. I was formally a professor at an archaeology school in New York." He explained as she watched him in curiosity, "Glad to see another American on board here as well, not that the Japanese are a pain. I really enjoy it here. Sorry, your name is kinda strange, it's Idol, right?"

"Yeah, it's a long story." She looked away in embarrassment but gave a small smile nonetheless.

"Well it's good to have you on board with us. From now on this will be your homeroom classroom, you have access to it whenever you feel it's necessary: before or after school or during lunch hour. Up to you," he explained, "My name is Mr. Haner or Dr. Haner, whichever you prefer I won't call you out on it and welcome!" He grinned and shook her hand.

"Thank you, very much!" She went to her assigned seat after she was introduced to the entire class. The class was rather small but it was fine. It wasn't the class she was aiming for but at least she was in the same building as him. Now she can keep a closer watch on her short companion. As the lecture started she began to drift and focus on that particular energy that she felt on that day when she first met him. The hairs on her arm stood when she felt the familiar warm buzz. It wasn't as chaotic as that night when she saw him go berserk. It was soothing, nonthreatening, and calm... Calm before the storm. She was able to feel his presence across the hall from her class room.

Eventually, the bell rang, signifying that it is now lunch time.  
She had put her notes, which were filled with nonsensical scribbles and drawings, away along with the new text book she was given. She stepped out and smiled at the other class labelled 1-B. She stepped in after almost every student left for lunch.

Inside 1-B, Yugi had his eyes focused on his desk. He didn't know that his face gave away how stressed he was at the moment, though Jounouchi did, "Hey Yug, what's up?"

Yugi snapped out of it and sent a smile to his dear friend though the smile didn't reach his eyes, "Oh hello, Jounouchi."

"What's got you down?"

"It's nothing." Yugi shrugged, "I'm fine."

Jounouchi leaned forward, "Listen, Yugi, I've been investigating and as I figured there is an Idol in this school!"

Yugi gave him an incredulous look, "What the-?! You're still looking into that!"

"That's right! I found her this morning in the school's office!" He grinned like a little boy, so proud of himself for his little discovery.

"Jounouchi-kun, that's impossible!" Yugi tried getting through him, "I've met her already but she's-"

"She's right here." A girl spoke up and Yugi jumped looking at her in shock. She keeps doing that! Is she stalking him?

"What are you doing here?" Yugi questioned though he didn't mean for the question to come off as rude. He then realized she was wearing the school's uniform. This morning she was dressed completely different.

"Yugi, don't be rude to the pretty girl." Jounouchi nudged his side and sent a wink over to the girl, "The names Jounouchi! At your service!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Idol."

"Ah, so that's the confusion! It's just your name!" It was as if a chain of light bulbs sparked above his head and she couldn't help but chuckle, "but in all seriousness, are you secretly famous?"

She didn't stop smiling at his persistence, "No, I'm not. I just moved here from Africa."

"If you're from Africa, then why do you look and sound white?" Jounouchi questioned.

"Jounouchi! That's not a nice thing to say!" Yugi said sending an annoyed glance at his friend.

"Oi! I'm just being curious!"

Idol looked at the two bicker and smiled. For the first time in her life, she can slightly relax. She cleared her throat so she can get their attention, "That's okay, Yugi. I was only in Africa for a short time... I'd say close to six months. From there I was attending a program with a good friend of mine who was at the same orphanage as me in North California, which is of course the United States."

"Well that makes more sense!" Jounouchi smiled and then he thought of something, "Wait a sec... So, how did you end up here? Foster parents?"

She only smiled at him. A girl came in the room and caught Yugi's attention. She was grateful for the interruption because she didn't know how to answer Jounouchi. She didn't want to tell them the truth. There were two reasons why she was here. One was that she ran away and why she chose this location was the thing around Yugi's neck.

"Hey guys!" The girl who came in greeted the two boys. She had short brown hair and was almost as tall as Jounouchi.

"Hello, Anzu!" Yugi greeted back happily, "Anzu, this is the new student everyone has been talking about."

"Yeah, the only downfall is that she's not famous." Jounouchi grumbled but sent Idol a smirk.

Idol laughed and for the first time she can say that she was really happy. After introductions, Yugi let her explain how they met yesterday. Of course, Idol left out what had happened that night. She actually tested Yugi to see if he would mention it but it seems as if he had no clue of what happened after she left him. This made her more confused.

All of this made Yugi felt more at ease as to what had happened earlier on the bus. He watched as Idol explained their first meeting and he replayed those events in his head. She really did look pretty then and how much of a fool he was for falling to such a cruel prank and somehow got her involved. He didn't really know what had happened after that and he didn't want to ask her where she had gone thinking it would make her feel uncomfortable. Soon lunch hour was over and Idol had to go back to her class. He couldn't help but to ask, "Idol, would you like to join us to the arcade after school?"

"Arcade?"

"Yeah," he faltered maybe she didn't enjoy those type of things, "That's if you'd like to."

"Sure, I hear Japan has better arcades than we will ever have."

"Ah! Perfect!"

If Idol wasn't so concerned about the puzzle, she then would've taken Yugi's reaction to heart.

[After school]

Idol closed her locker and made her way outside of the school almost tripping over her shoes. This was such a weird routine, she thought and spotted Yugi waiting for her. He seemed to focused on the ground. Something was off, she thought. She had noticed this behavior all day.

"Hey," She called and suddenly his eyes brighten when he saw her, "Ah, Idol-chan, are you ready to go?"

"Sure," she looked around, "Where's Jounouchi and Anzu?"

"Jounouchi will meet us there in half an hour, he had cleaning duty today and Anzu said she couldn't make it." There was a disappointment tone towards the end of that statement, she caught. _"How cute, he likes her, too bad she doesn't feel the same way."_

"Shall we?" Yugi called out to her. She gathered her backpack and walked alongside him to wherever this arcade is. It was a quiet walk thought it didn't seem awkward. Every time she looked over to him, his eyes were unfocused. There had to be something wrong with him.

"Yugi, are you alright?"

He snapped out of it and smiled at her, "Uh yeah, I am."

"You seem kinda off today, I hope I'm not intruding or anything."

"N-no, I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind." He chuckled nervously and her eyes narrowed.

"Yugi, do you know what happened last night?"

"Last night?"

"Yeah, did you hear about the director? They found him passed out in front of the media building." She explained looking to see if anything sparked in him,

"What! Really?"

He truly was shocked, he hadn't even thought about that cruel man up until she brought it up.

"Yeah, you didn't know?"

He was so confused as he shook his head. After seeing her run away yesterday all he remembered was picking up her shoe and walking back home to nurse his wounds. He thought about where she had gone to return...oh that's right, "Oh, Idol, I still have your shoe."

"Huh, I completely forgot." She kept looking at him to see if there was any sort of sign of what he did that night but... Nothing. It's like he wasn't even there. He either could be a very good actor or... That person wasn't him at all. For a moment, she thought she saw the puzzle glint at her. That made her more suspicious about it. This thing is possessed.

"Idol, how about stopping by at my place after the arcade."

"Your place?"

"Y-yeah, so you can pick up your shoe... Y'know..." Why was he starting to feel embarrassed all of a sudden?

She giggled at him. She giggled!

"Yes, of course, before i forget about it again." She ruffled his hair knowing it will annoy him, "How far are we from the arcade?"

He got over it after she mentioned it, "It's just around the corner!" He grabbed her wrist in excitement, "Come on!" Like a child dragging their mother to a candy shop, Yugi had already forgotten whatever bothered him that morning. Idol, too, dropped her suspicions of the millennium item and decided to have fun instead.

* * *

**AN:**

Yeah, I had to add that mean girl's reference. It was too perfect. Uploading part two of this chapter -


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! Belongs to Kazuki Takahashi and the Evil Empire known as Konami

I don't take credit for this kind of shit.

Chapter 3 - All This Ringing In My Ears But None On My Fingers

* * *

The gentle caress of the sun's warmth made her smile today. She always adored it. It reminded her of home. If she called it home. She decided to walk home after school. Not even bothering to run into her new friends across the hall from her class. She had some planning to do. It was only a matter of time before they find out where she is. It's been three days since she hasn't seen Yugi's dark side. It's almost as if she had imagined the entire thing but no Yugi had to know about the shadow games. She had to carry out her plan and leave this place despite how fun her friends are. This thought stopped her from walking further. She stood there with a depressed look to the sidewalk before her. Every other citizen passed her as she wasn't moving. She had done it. She grew attached and it hasn't been what... Two days? With a sigh, she figured she'll get over it. It's not like it was gonna kill her. She concluded that it wasn't the fact that she's attached but the fact there was a sense of longing but that accompanied feelings of hurt. She shook her head and carried on. But before she could go about her afternoon, she heard a cry of help.

"You, excuse me." She looked over to see a short boy with glasses running to her. It was that same boy that Yugi claimed to be his friend. Hanasaki was it? Why the hell was his face bruised up?

"What's wrong?" She demanded and he stopped in front of her to catch his breath, "I need your help! Yugi is going to be in trouble and it's my fault!"

Her eyes widened at his statement and then she glared down at him, "Why did you come to me?"

This caused him to flinch at her tone, "You.. You're his girlfriend, are you not?"

"I am not!"

"Oh? What a relief for me." A deep voice from behind made her jump in shock. It was that one guy from the bus, with the weird hair!

"Either way, I sent Hanasaki to you so that he can invite you to my show tonight but seeing as he said too much, you're forced to go princess." He chuckled as he crossed his arms.

She felt a nudge and it was the small boy, "Let's just go."

Ignoring him she glared at the big guy, "What are you planning to do with Yugi?"

"Just a special performance for him and guests." He held out a hand to her, "You're our special guest." She smacked it away from her and this caused him to forcefully grab her wrist, "Lucky you going in for free."

[Showtime]

There they are at the karaoke place with the huge banner stating "All you can sing!" She couldn't fucking believe that she was being held hostage. No, she wasn't restrained to the metal chair he sat her in. He kept making threats that if she didn't comply, his buddies will pull Yugi to the side and beat him. Seriously, this boy has a knack for getting into trouble. She concluded it was his hair. Now if he were some random boy like Hanasaki here, she didn't think she would take his threat seriously and found a way to disregard her displays of shadow magic and just throttle him on the streets. But no... Something held her back. Why does she feel the need to protect him? It's his puzzle that mattered to her!

"Oi, I'm getting impatient here!" She fidgeted in her seat. She was at center backstage behind a curtain. The two guys who were watching her just glared at her. One of them spoke up, "Shut it, girly! Three minutes till!"

Rolling her eyes she replied, "Can't wait!"

On the other side of the curtain was Elvis in all his glory and a pitiful audience he had. Yugi sat there in shame and just shook the jingle bells he received.

Souzouji wasn't pleased, "Yugi, what the hell is this?" He stomped towards him and grabbed him by the shirt, "How could you fail to even sell a single ticket?!"

"I'm sorry!" He whimpered, "I was really busy."

"Damn right you were!" He growled, "Don't give me this excuse of girlfriend crap either!"

Yugi was scared, always flinching every time Souzouji spoke, "I wasn't going to give you an excuse!" He pleaded, "Look, I'll stay and hear you sing."

"No shit, loser! You're going to stay until dawn and party with me!" Souzouji let him go and walked back onstage and spoke to the microphone, "Before the Live of Blood show begins, I would like to welcome our special guest to the stage!"

That was their cue to move. One of his stooges walked closer to Idol. She gave this glare that made her more intimidating than how she appeared. This guy was a bit freaked thinking she might bite him. She read her mind and smirked, "No, of course I won't bite, yet." They placed headphones on her head and opened the curtains. Her eyes squinted at the unexpected spotlight. As soon as they came into focus, she spotted Yugi by himself on the couch and her favorite guy of the hour onstage messing with the sound system.

"Presenting the beautiful Idol!"

She could hear him loud and clear through the headphones and she could barely hear Yugi shouting at her from off stage.

"One lucky girl, aren't you?" He chuckled moving closer to her, "Here on stage with me and you're only going to listen to me!"

She shut her eyes at the sound, "Can you tone it down a notch? You're going to make the entire world wish they were deaf!"

"I think you meant max volume." He snickered.

Her eyes widen, "You're fucking kidding me." If the previous setting was loud enough, then...

"Now the number I'm most proud of!"

She wanted to say that she heard worse things but with her ear drums imploding. She was so fucking done. She removed them away from her head and stood up.

"Hey! Sit back down!"

"Don't test me!" She growled at the two buddies of Souzouji.

Souzouji crept closer to her, "Remember our agreement, Idol, if you don't comply," he motioned for them to open the other curtain, "Then this will be your friend's fate!"

There lay an even more beat up Hanasaki. He pathetically lifted his head towards me and Yugi. She didn't notice that Yugi rushed over to him.

The guys who were with Hanasaki were now around Idol. One held her in place and the other shoved the headphones on her.

"Now second song!" He screamed to the microphone which made her cringe.

"Quit pissing me off!" She shoved the two guys off of her. She couldn't hear anything but ringing in her ears. A faint golden glow was shone from the corner of her eye. Believing it that it came from her, she whacked the two men with the chair she sat on, knocking them out. She gave a look to Souzouji as if she were to say, "You're next."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she gasped. It was Yugi! The same aura from the other night! She hadn't realized how tall he got. He was as tall as her now. Both his hands were either side of her face and removed the headphones off of her ears so they were now just hanging from her neck, "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I can't hear you but.. Yes."

Chuckling at her statement, he stepped forward and his mood changed to a scary mad. Now there's mad but then there's this guy. His glare outdid Idol's.

"How dare you make my friends suffer! I will not forgive you!"

Souzouji just chuckled, "Hey what happened to your eyes?"

Idol looked as well, she noticed a difference as well. His eyes were now crimson instead of the soft violet. She looked at the puzzle suspiciously. This guy isn't Yugi, she concluded.

"Souzouji, are you a coward?" Her dark companion mocked, "Because if you're not, then you won't run away from a little game with Idol."

"Game?" Souzouji questioned.

"A game of silence."

"What!" She wondered if her hearing came back or did he say, "I'm playing your shadow game?"

He gave her a bored look, "You're wearing the headphones."

"Screw you!" She glared at him what the hell did the headphones had to do with this, "Who died and made you king!" She put the headphones around his neck and she thought to herself, "I don't even have my scale, how stupid of me."

Behind him the two dimwits just recovered and saw that Souzouji motioned them to attack. She noticed them coming close to Yugi, _"But that doesn't stop me from anything!"_ She shoved Yugi out of the way and grabbed the arm that was about to strike him. Using her body weight, she pushed one and both of their weight toppled the other, _"And it also doesn't stop me from using my shadow magic."_ She chanted and her eyes became slit-like along with the millennium eye appeared on her forehead, "Illusion." The two men cowered as if they saw their worst fears and ran out the door.

"Oi! Cowards!"

"I've made the preparations if both of you can join me here at the table."

There he had two dance clown dolls on the table. She recognized these things. These were called Sound Peirrot. Basically if you made any noise these weird looking things will dance. Yugi walked up to her and whispered in her ear. She felt weird having him close. Was this how the little one felt whenever she'd mess with him? Was this payback? He leaned back and winked at her. Yes, it was. Though, she focused on what he told her to do and it confused her. He wanted me to put the headphone jack, where?!

Souzouji sat across the table from him. Idol had came back with the glass of water as Yugi explained the rules, "The Sound Pierrots will be placed in front of us, as the game begins we both need to be perfectly silent. If we make a noise then the clown will dance that will signify loss."

"Alright," Souzouji chuckled, "What happens if you lose?"

"I'll give my life."

Idol studied him again and she added this to her mental notes about Yugi's dark alter ego: he's fucking _insane_.

"But if you lose, then you will suffer a penalty game."

"I'm down with that!"

As they began the game, Idol had already placed the glass of water next to Yugi's clown and she had balanced his headphone jack on the rim of the glass without anyone but Yugi noticing. He gave her a nod and she stepped away from them. She sat on the floor and watched. Trying not to make a sound though it was very hard for her because she still had that ringing in her ears along with a terrible pressure that's making her head hurt. She's suffering through this and she ain't even playing. There was a thumping sound. Her body stopped moving even her breathing so she can hear where this thumping sound is coming from. Was it her heart? No... She looked to the two. Yugi wore a smirk as we waited patiently while Souzouji was breaking a sweat, his face contorted as he watched the glass of water she had placed there. A lightbulb went off in her head. So that's why he wanted her to do that!

Soon the Pierrot picked up on the sound of the thumping and danced. This made Souzouji gasped.

"The sound of your heart!"

Souzouji looked up at the speakers as his heart rate increases, "Why are they playing my heart beat!"

Finally, she stood up and pointed at what he had in his hand, "Stupid, you didn't let go of your damn mic!"

He looked down at the mic in hand, "No! This can't be!"

"Maximize volume on that asshole." She gritted her teeth as Yugi gave the penalty.

As Souzouji wailed and ran off like a crazy person, she went ahead and turned off the bloody speaker. She knew she was being watched so she turned to him and crossed her arms, "Well I'll say, after three days of knowing you, I had no idea this side of you were ever to come out, Yugi, if I can call you that."

He only smirked, "I see you're not dressed as conspicuous as the last time we met."

"So you figured out who I am." She grinned, "Last time we met?" So...she was right about him, "Who are you anyways? Split-personality?"

"I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."

She kept her grin, not wanting to show her impatience. She might have to reveal herself tonight if he keeps pushing it, "Fine, what do you want to hear?"

"That item you have with you, it's the same as this one." He held his millennium puzzle. Although it wasn't a question, she knew he just wanted to confirm it.

She nodded, "Yes, they're called the Millennium Items."

He stared at his, pondering over something, "Is it just ours?"

"No, there are others though I'm not sure of the exact number." She walked over to him and held her hand out, "May I?"

He gave her a long hard stare and then trusted her to hold it, though this made her closer to him because he didn't want to take it off, "The only distinguishing factor that these items have is the eye of Horus." She explained tracing the pattern of it, "You want to know an interesting fact about your particular piece."

He nodded for her to continue, "Pyramids in Ancient Egypt were built so that the pinnacle pointed towards the sun." She rested the puzzle upside down on the palm of her hand so that the tip would demonstrate in what she was saying, "It is believed that when we die our spirits will rise to the heavens. To the sun. To Ra. That is what the pyramids signified."

She let go of the puzzle so that it hung down, she had it by the rope, "The Millennium Puzzle is in the shape of an upside down pyramid, meaning it points down away from the sun, away from Ra. A symbol of darkness." She lets it go completely and meets his eye, "Which makes me question who you are as in relation to this puzzle or does this puzzle amplify Yugi's inner demons."

He took her words in and thought silently to himself before giving her a genuine smile. No, it wasn't a smirk but a smile, "I am the spirit of the millennium puzzle and I can be either friend or foe."

She realized he used her words on her this time and before she can give a reply a glow blinded her for a moment and he shrunk back to Yugi.

He looked as if he just woke up and he realized where he was and who was in front of him, "Oh? Idol? What happened?"

She had to realize that she had her mouth open in shock. Snapping out of it she put up her friendly face, "Yugi! It was so terrible! You'd fallen asleep through the entire performance!"

He just gave her a dumbfound look and noticed his surroundings. Then he saw someone, "Ah! Hanasaki-kun!"

"Oh yeah, he exists, too." Idol had totally forgotten about him and she made her way to help Yugi carry Hanasaki back to his house.

Afterwards, she had offer him to walk him home. Yugi felt out of place for it was him that was supposed to walk her home. She objected saying that she wasn't gonna head home anytime soon and that she was gonna head to whatever coffee shop that was open at this hour.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"That's kinda late, Idol." Yugi joked as they were now in front of the game shop. This was her first time here and she couldn't stop staring at the place.

"Don't be cute." She stuck her tongue out at him, "I wanted to know how you got the millennium puzzle."

"Oh, I never told you." He grabbed it, "My grandfather gave it to me as a present, it took me about eight years to solve it and well I have to say it was just recently."

"Eight years?!" She had to been what? Seven years old? That's when all the shit happened to her at home. It's what forced her to leave home. She was angry but she couldn't show it and she knew he had just solved it recently, otherwise she would've gone another wild goose chase.

"Who's your grandfather?"

"Yugi! You're home late again!" On cue an old man walked out of the shop and scolded the little boy in front of her, "I didn't give you a curfew just for you to... Oh!" He finally saw her and chuckled, "Well if I had known you were on a date, you could have just let me know before hand!"

"Grandpa!" Yugi whined, "We are not dating, this is my new friend, Idol."

She felt a little awkward and waved a hello. She was never good with family members.

"Not dating? Oh, what a shame! She is so pretty!"

She giggled nervously, "Um, thank you?"

His grandfather smacked his back, "Well don't leave her outside for too long, if you want, invite her to the living room."

"Maybe next time, sir, it's already late and I have to head home." She cleared her throat hoping she said the right thing.

"Well I hope you do come by again! It was nice to meet you, Idol!" His grandpa waved before stepping inside the shop, "Goodnight!"

A moment of awkward silence had passed but Idol was relieved, "Well that was interesting."

"That's gramps." Yugi's face was red in embarrassment and she couldn't help but smile.

"I do hope coming by again that is if you have me."

He was yet again flustered and he had no idea why, "S-sure, maybe we can hang out tomorrow."

"I'd like that, Yugi." She leaned closer and ruffled his hair, "Goodnight." With a smirk, she saw the puzzle glint and this was indeed payback. Annoyed he fixed his hair to look..."normal" and trotted inside uttering "strange girl."

* * *

**AN**:

I reread this chapter for many reasons: one to see if the plot is still okay, to remind myself at what's going on, and to laugh at my ridiculous writing. Hahaha... ah... Who doesn't love a psychotic pharaoh?


	4. Chapter 4

Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi and not yours truly...

Chapter 4 - My Way of Pendulum Summoning

* * *

It was finally the weekend and absolutely no trouble has made their way towards her or her friends. Please... Someone knock on wood before something happens. No? Okay...

Yugi had invited Idol over to show her around the shop. It was quite clear that the two had been getting close. Of course there was also Jounouchi, who she had grown fond of. He liked her for she shared his sense of humor. There was Anzu who at first was sort of suspicious of Idol, that's cause of the rumor Idol had accidentally started about dating Yugi. She figured Anzu had some sort of feelings for the boy but Idol doesn't have any intention of making herself competition, though that didn't mean she didn't want to stop hanging out with him. For a dude who was almost socially awkward and getting picked on every kid in town, he was fun to be around with. Then there were other two people she had got acquainted with. What were their names again?

"Honda and Miho," Yugi answered.

"Oh, right, you think they'll come by as well?" Idol questioned looking at all the variety of trading and collectible cards.

"Not really but they'll meet us at the arcade later today." Yugi went behind the glass display to get something from the shelf. It's been a while since the spirit of the millennium puzzle made its appearance. Though, there wasn't any threats so far, not that it matter. She wondered if Yugi knew about it taking over his body. If the spirit wanted to keep his presence a secret then that's fine with her. Her presence here with Yugi was a secret itself. She hasn't even told him that she possesses an item similar to his. It's okay, what Yugi doesn't know won't hurt him.

"Ow!"

Except for the box that landed on him. Idol picked the box that hit him from the floor and examined his head, "You okay there?"

"Yeah," He replied rubbing the part where the box had hit him, "I was reaching for that deck building game, I thought we could play for the while."

She looked at the box in her hands in question, "Duel monsters?"

His eyes were lit with excitement, "It's a card game that's existed for a while now but I think it's growing in popularity now that the new set is premiering on Monday!"

"Really?" She looked down at the box, "You think we can open some packs?"

Yugi thought about it for a bit. Obviously this was his grandfather's merchandise but he wondered if he can break a few rules to keep his friend entertained.

"If money is an issue I can buy a box for us and we can play a draft." Idol suggested as she looked around for a price, "Hmm... Ten thousand yen? Yeah I can cover that."

Yugi's jaw dropped at that gesture and suddenly his grandfather entered, "Hohoho! So you like duel monsters?"

Idol smiled at him, "I've played some other deck building games but this one I haven't heard of yet, can it be that it's barely hitting international sales?"

His grandfather made the hand gesture of so-so, "Somewhat, like Yugi said it's slowly increasing popularity. It's hit stores around the world by now but I guess only nerds like us purchase them!"

"Like Magic and Wizards?"

Suddenly, grandpa's eyes lit up just like how Yugi's were a while ago, "Yes! Actually that's the same game! They're just changing the name!"

"Oh!" Idol smiled, "Then yeah, I've played it before!"

He chuckled loudly and brought Yugi into a head lock, "Oh! She's a keeper, Yugi!"

"Grandpa!"

His grandfather was generous enough to give both of them the starter set and the new set that's not supposed to be open till Monday. Idol couldn't take do that to his grandfather and pleaded to buy at least one of them, "Nonsense! I spoil my grandson everyday anyways!"

"Hey!"

"Okay, okay." Idol finally stopped, grabbing the starter set, and holding Yugi's arm, "Come on! Let me show you how to draft!"

Blushing, he nodded grabbing the other set, "Wait, Idol, let's do it in the living room." He led her to the door that separated his home from the store.

"Finally, you let her inside!"

"Shut up, gramps!"

"You kids play it safe!"

[Author here: a brief note on how to play a draft for those of you who have never played in a yugioh or magic the gathering tournaments. We basically get a set that's like ninety to hundred I don't remember? here in the US containing I believe 36 booster packs and with that you open the pack and choose the card you want for your deck and pass the pack around till it's finished. Basically you are making a deck right then and there. It's usually played out with 4 players I believe. After the packs are done we can trade amongst each other till your new deck is satisfied. Once that is done, it's time to duel! I suck at explaining.]

"Summoned Demon!"

"Oh! That was one of the super rares! Lucky you!" Idol exclaimed whilst putting her flame night in the graveyard. Most of her cards weren't up to that level. She might lose again. No. No. No, she can't give up yet.

"Draw!" She looked over and she smiled, "Aha! Flame Cerberus!"

ATK: 2100  
DEF: 1800

Yugi looked over in surprise, "That's a very good card, Idol, but it's still no match for the Summoned Demon."

"With a field bonus it raises its attack points by 300."

ATK: 2400

"Idol, it's still a hundred points away!"

"Not with this equipped card!" She placed the magic card behind her monster, "Beast fangs gives it another 300 point boost for both attack and defense!"

ATK: 2700  
DEF: 2100

"Your demon goes down and your life points are gone!" She played out a victory dance in her head. She couldn't believe that she started to sweat over this.

"Very good, Idol, you've finally beaten me!" Yugi cheered for her happily and decided to tease her, "That's one win for you out of the many duels we played."

Happy trip over, she groaned and dreadfully looked over to the scoreboard on the mini note pad he had gotten.

First duel: Yugi won  
Second duel: draw  
Third duel: close match/Yugi won  
Fourth duel: Idol

It was all fun and games at first but then Idol's competitive side took over and Yugi at first was nice enough to give her a rematch. Though, seeing that she was a tough opponent, he couldn't resist to play seriously. Little did he know the spirit within his millennium puzzle took some enjoyment out of this and that influenced little Yugi to play competitively as well. He hadn't had this much fun since Joey came by and played other games with him.

Suddenly, she stood up, "Fine, let's settle this with Cthulhu dice!"

They had no idea what they were settling. At this point it was now who was better at gaming. They also had no idea that they burned through the entire morning and that Jounouchi had come by around noon and began to watch them play out Mario kart rainbow road on Yugi's GameCube.

"Victory is mine!" Idol shouted standing up and then suddenly she was struck by a missile and Yugi sped passed her claiming first place.

"OH!"

Jounouchi had burst out laughing and Idol just collapsed into the couch, face first. Yugi had an amused grin at how Idol was acting. Not that she was being a sore loser but of how passionate she was about winning. Then he saw Jounouchi, "Oh! When did you come by?"

"About 30 minutes ago." He shrugged.

Yugi had an apologetic frown, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Was too busy enjoying seeing you guys beat each other up." He looked down on the couch, "Hey, Idol, you're pretty good considering nobody has ever gotten close to beating Yugi."

"Well that's not all." Yugi cut in, "She has beaten me in some rounds but I guess we just lost track."

They both heard Idol muffle in the couch. She had a despair tone in her voice. For some reason Yugi understood her, "Idol, it doesn't matter how many times we win or lose." He scratched the back of his head nervously wondering if... "Did you at least had fun?"

She didn't say anything but raised her hand and gave him a thumbs up.

Yugi then relaxed and Jounouchi looked at the two, "So, food?"

Idol stood up at that thought agreeing with Jounouchi, "Food."

The spirit of the millennium puzzle stood there with his arms crossed, focused on Idol through Yugi's eyes at every chance that Yugi looked over to her. He couldn't help but smile. He was unaware that his heart was racing with anticipation. If only he was the one to challenge her to these sort of games. She knew how to roll the dice and she can well balance out strategic plays with luck. He hadn't realized that this was the first time he ever seen her play. When it came to shadow games, she had never participated with it. She was so enraged with whoever their opponent was and she'd automatically jumped the chance to banish them. She reminded him of a ruthless tyrant. Though, he can't blame her. He had his share of cruelty when it came to the endangerment of his host and his friends. Perhaps, it was the fact that her and his host's emotions amplify their inner darkness and he, the millennium puzzle, and her scale is the key to project those human emotions. Though, this side of her was completely different. She was intelligent, witty, and exciting. She didn't get legitimately angry when she lost but she threw this small frenzy at herself and afterwards laugh at her loss and jumped to the challenge again. All this seemed so familiar. It was as if he had played against an opponent like her before.

"Idol..." He muttered under his breath and he remembered that she had the millennium scale. He wondered what her connection to the items are. How did she get hers? Something tells him that her arrival here right after he had been awakened was not coincidental but rather she somehow knew of his presence. Connecting the pieces together at the times they had encountered each other and what she had told him. She didn't seem like a threat whenever she was around his host. As a matter of fact, it seemed that she had grown fond of him. How much he'd wish it to be but sometimes it felt as if she can be his enemy. Why else would she had suggested that? He was scared to admit it. But why? His heart fluttered again and he realized... Did he want to be her friend? She was the only person who knew who he was. The only person with the same shadow magic. Sighing to himself, he rather not over think this. He retreated back to loose himself in his personal labyrinth.

Back to Idol, she had grown extremely anxious at how this guy barged in thinking he could just claim whatever he wanted. It was absurd how he threatened Yugi over a damn watch! For some reason, seeing this made Idol's blood boil. Oh... Did we loose you there? Rewinding back, Yugi and his two friends were heading to the arcade and realized why Honda hadn't shown up at the kame game shop. He was busy standing in line for Miho to buy a limited edition D-Shock watch. Apparently, he had been standing in line all morning. _"This guy,"_ Idol thought, _"Is whipped."_ Honda had been dying to go to the bathroom and had asked them to stand in line for him. Jounouchi had gone to show him the nearest restroom. Idol agreed to stay with Yugi cause...well why would she accompany men to the restrooms? Long story, short; Yugi got the last watch and some guy got pissed off. Idol thought that she might have to get into a brawl if he didn't let go of Yugi. Then she and the creep overheard the store clerk call for the police. The creep let Yugi go and stormed off.

And that brings us in front of the arcade with the rest of the gang. Miho and Anzu had been shopping earlier which was why Miho asked Honda to stand in line for her.

"Honda! You really helped Miho a lot by standing in line in Miho's place!" She chirped as she stared at her new watch in amazement.

Idol absentmindedly rolled her eyes and thought, "Oh right, she refers to herself in third person."

"Friends are truly worth having, huh, Miho?" Anzu gave her that look and Idol smiled. Out of all of us, it was most likely the three girls plus Jounouchi that knew of Miho's actions and it was quite funny some boys can be taken advantage of. Idol wasn't against it. She had used that at several points in her life.

"Absolutely!" Miho agreed and she turned to Honda giving him a grateful smile, "I love you, Honda-kun!"

"She said she loves you, Honda!" Jounouchi teased, "Aren't you glad that you stood in line so early in the morning?"

"Shut up!" Honda exclaimed, "As a beautification member it is a natural thing to do!"

Idol giggled, "Sure it was!"

Honda then went on a full rant about how dirty the world was and as a beautification member he had to purify it all. Then shouted at Jounouchi because he wanted to hold and wear the watch. As they challenged each other to rock, paper, scissors, Idol couldn't help but sense something dark amongst them and it wasn't her spirit friend. She had glanced over to Yugi's puzzle almost forgetting about him. This day had been so eventful. She wished there was a way that she could communicate with him seeing as she was the only one who knew of his presence. In a way, she felt a bit bad for him but she knew he wouldn't want her pity.

She found herself gambling with a machine hoping to ease away the nerves but she felt she was being watched. The machine dinged that she won about a thousand yen. I guess it's some victory that she won back some money. Yugi on the other hand... His face lit up and he had the biggest smile on his face, "Idol! I won jackpot!"

"Yugi! Don't start with me!"

Honda had been with us but he was ignoring us. Admiring the watch and apparently Miho's "warmth". Idol's anxiety had dropped a bit and she laughed at Yugi's attempt of getting Honda's attention.

"I don't understand." Yugi muttered with a frown.

Idol smirked and winked at him, "You will when you become hopelessly in love."

With that, Yugi had blush by her statement. She had no idea about his feelings. The thought of the person he had been eyeing was making him hot and he couldn't let himself slip up. Yugi was glad that Idol hadn't been paying attention but her eyes looked distant once again. He had been noticing that ever since they were outside. He was worried but didn't know how to ask her what was wrong, thinking she'll deny anything wrong with her. He noticed that she kept looking over her shoulder a lot.

_"It's getting stronger."_ Idol thought, then she noticed Yugi looking at her and she felt self-conscious for a moment but then smiled down at him. She ruffled the part of his hair behind his left ear, "I'm going to use the facilities." She told him and walked off. Despite being annoyed by that action she'd always do to tick him off he couldn't felt but feel that little sense of euphoria when he felt her nails gently graze his scalp behind the ear. It made him blush again and he was unaware of the warmth glow coming from his puzzle. Yugi's eyes suddenly narrowed and his blonde hairs had stuck up wildly. The spirit had unintentionally taken over his host and he had stared at the direction where she had gone. His hand went up to the part where she had her hand and he frowned at her actions, "What is that girl doing to me?"

What is she doing! She knew that dark presence! There it was lurking around the corner but what! Were they taunting her? She couldn't let Yugi find out why she had been uppity about because she knew he'd want to get involved. She won't let that happen, she won't let anyone near that puzzle. After splashing her face with cold water and drying it, she inhaled and exhale to calm her nerves, "Okay, Idol! It's game time!"

She walked out of the restroom and didn't realize the man walking out of the men's and bumped his arm, "Hey! Watch it!" He hissed at her and she glared but gasped to see his face. It was him! The crazy watch guy! He had noticed her face and he walked away from her. She had watched him go with an incredulous look. That asshole not even gonna apologize to her. She was about to walk back to join up with her friends but suddenly everything clicked together. The dark presence was him, he had been stalking them! A chill ran down her spine, Yugi wasn't in trouble it was the person who has the watch. "Honda!"

"What?"

"Eeeeeeeeeh!" She squealed not expecting him to be behind her. Honda had jumped at the same time and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Idol, you've been acting paranoid lately."

"Oh, I'm just naturally jumpy is all." Idol chuckled at her behavior. Honda was fine!

He smiled at her, "Let's meet up with the others."

She agreed walking alongside him. Maybe it was just a coincidence that the creep was here... No! Idol! You're not an idiot!

Soon they met with the group and she overheard that Miho had to leave due to an early curfew. Idol glanced over to Honda's wrist and the watch wasn't there. Her heart rate increased and she tugged on his sleeve. She leaned up to whisper in his ear, "Where's the watch?"

"Huh?"

"You have to give it back to her," Idol said eyeing to Miho who was ready to leave.

"Oh! Yeah," he felt around his pockets, "I took it off cause I had to wash my hands."

After a while, he emptied out his front and back pockets. The watch was nowhere to be found. Idol gritted her teeth, the creep must have taken it. Suddenly she met eye to eye with the creep and he saw her smirking right back. She felt herself move in his direction when suddenly a pair of pants was thrown at her, "What the bloody-!"

"WHERE IS IT!" Honda had stripped naked and looking inside his boxers for the damn watch.

"Oi! Put your pants back on!" Jonouchi shouted and everyone else just looked at him as if he needed to be checked into the funny farm.

-SMACK-

"HONDA,YOU'RE AN IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!" Miho cried and ran away with tears trailing down, "I HATE YOU!"

Honda had fallen on the floor in defeat. If Idol wasn't preoccupied she would've enjoyed this scene. The creep walked by them and stepped on Honda's hand. Idol growled at the action. He was taunting her!

"Oh? Sorry, thought that was a wash cloth." He chuckled darkly.

"Why you-" She was cut off by Jounouchi grabbing his shirt collar, "Oi! What's your problem, punk?"

Honda stood up, "Stop it, Jounouchi."

Idol shook her head in protest wanting Jounouchi to carry out his threat.

"If you have time to play with that idiot, then please leave me to search for Miho's watch." Honda stated grabbing his clothes and checked every inch of the floor.

"We should help, too." Anzu had said.

Jounouchi looked at her and then to Honda's retreated form. The creep grabbed his hand and released himself, "What he said, kid." And with that he walked away.

_"Not on my watch."_ Idol then left to stalk her pray without anyone noticing since they were too preoccupied with Honda's crazy antics.

Yugi, however, did notice her missing. His heart dropped as he made the only possible conclusion: she went after him. He rushed over to where they would have taken off. He caught a glance at her hair as she made her way to the other set of stairs. He thought about calling out to her but she was too far down. He ran down the numerous flight of stairs and suddenly he realized she had disappeared completely. He didn't realize how dark it was down here. Without Yugi knowing, the spirit in his puzzle was growing anxious at her sudden disappearance. This feeling was amplified by Yugi's and that didn't help him at all. Yugi noticed the air conditioning room, "Idol." He uttered making his way to the door and opened it. He rushed in and it was empty. He walked in further looking for her. Then... He felt a struck and great pain to the back of his neck.

"You're a fool for following me here." The voice of the creep echoed through the room, "I thought you were that girl friend of yours."

"W-where is sh-she?" He struggled to get up but that resulted multiple kicks to his side.

"Right here!" She jumped his back and grappled him, "Quit beating my friend you pathetic low life mortal!"

"Let go of me!" He stepped away from Yugi and tried to shake her off his back.

"Not until you give back that damn watch!"

"It's mine, you bitch!" He threw her off and slammed her to the floor. She gasped at the sudden pain when she made contact. He towered over her and pinned her wrists with one of his hands, "Now so that you and your little friend won't follow me."

She glared and was about to tell him something but she noticed a glow behind him and Yugi's shadow grew around them. This distracted her from the oncoming smack across her face.

"Get your hands off of her!"

The creep looked back and loosened his grip. He saw Yugi standing behind him glaring down with his hands gripped to his sides. He looked like he was ready to commit murder. Only Idol knew that was somebody else and not Yugi and he was pissed.

"Why you!" The creep got off of her and charged at Yugi. She realized the entire room had changed to gears moving like the inside of a clock. As much as she wanted to torture that man she begrudgingly decided to play the spirit's game with him.

"That's dangerous." The dark spirit muttered not even flinching when a pendulum had separated him from his attacker.

The guy stopped and he was suddenly aware of his surroundings, "What the hell is this?"

"It's game time." Dark Yugi grinned evilly, "A shadow game."

"What?"

"We will wager that stolen D-Shock watch." The spirit stated pointing to the creep's hand.

"Don't fuck with me, bastard!" Idol had snuck up behind him and in a sleight of hand motion she had confiscated it.

"Hey!"

She smirked and Dark Yugi made her disappear under the floorboard in front of him before the mad man had struck her again. The creep knelt down clawing at it, "My watch! Give it back!"

Dark Yugi rolled his eyes at the man's pathetic nature, "But it's not really yours, is it?" He sighed, "If you win the game, then I'll acknowledge that it is yours."

The creep stared up at him, "Game you say?"

"Do you accept?"

"Fine!"

Yugi grinned and goaded, "No need to be so angry."

He pointed to the floor board and explained, "The rules are simple, when my lovely assistant appears from the floorboards, she will hold out the watch with the set timer. The one who stops the timer close to ten seconds wins."

"That's it?" He looked over the floor, "She won't cheat?"

"Of course, she wouldn't. All she will do is hold out the watch for us. Though if you pass the ten second mark that pendulum will pass."

"Fine, then! I'll go first!"

Yugi grinned and then tapped his foot, "Game start." And she appeared before them with the timer ticking.

She held her arm out with the watch in hand within reach for both of them. The other hand was tucked into her pocket. She was bored but glared at the man before her. He didn't see her glare but was too focused on counting down and his eyes were glued to the watch.

As soon as it reached nine seconds he grabbed her hand and the other stopped the timer before he got hit with the pendulum. She could feel it barely grazing both of them and the wind that accompanied it. She looked over the watch, "Nine point thirty-five seconds." She showed Yugi and the man gave both of them an arrogant grin, "How's that?"

Dark Yugi's confidence didn't falter, "You're good, now it's my turn."

She reset the timer and disappeared to wait for his call. He stared at the floorboard and then said, "Start."

Appearing before him again the timer ticked away the seconds. Why was she growing nervous all of a sudden? She could feel her heart match up to the tick. He had his eyes closed and she could practically hear him counting off. As it reached nine seconds he opened his eyes and leaned towards her, winking at her, and swiftly shutting the timer while the pendulum came his way.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Show off." And looked at the timer while he wore a smirk, "Nine point ninety-five seconds."

"Bullshit!"

"Read it and weep, you freak." She showed him Yugi's score.

"Impossible!" He looked over to both of them.

"Looks like I win."

"No! This one is a test! The next one is the real one!"

Idol groaned inwardly, this guy isn't gonna give up then she was reminded of her actions with Yugi that morning.

"Fine, have it your way." Dark Yugi was growing bored as well.

"Wait, this time I'm going to that side!" He walked over to Yugi's place and Yugi just grinned taking the opposite side.

Idol had already disappeared and she thought of the creep's conspiracy. If he thought that switching sides will make his odds any better then he's stupid.

"Start."

She appeared in front of the creep and he grinned thinking this time he'd win. She noticed that the nine second mark was closely coming but he wasn't moving. He's over thinking this, he's gonna lose. Realizing that he went over to stop the timer but he was too late. The pendulum came the opposite direction and made contact with his hand. He cried out in pain and cradled his hand.

The spirit of the millennium puzzle stood next to her and grabbed the hand that held the watch, "Too bad." He said, "Looks like I win this watch."

"No!"

Idol felt him coming so she angled her arm to elbow the guy but the creep grabbed her arm and threatened to break it.

"Screw this game! That watch is mine!"

She gritted her teeth. If he harmed her one more damn time she's gonna- Her thoughts were cut off when she felt Yugi embrace her protectively and gripped the guy's hand that was holding hers. The eye of Horus was on his forehead, "How pathetic." He growled, "The door of darkness has opened... He's all yours."

She gave him a look of surprise as he offered her to give the creep the punishment.

"Thank you." She smirked as she made the watches on the guy's arms melt into him and his bones and muscles became working gears of a clock. The man peeled off his skin to see that and he freaked out, "No! I don't want this! Please! Make it stoooop!"

She felt the spirit of the millennium puzzle pulled her away from the room and gently held her face, "The left cheek is red." He inspected it. She held his hand and pulled it away, "I've had worse... What's your name anyways?"

He tilted his head, his eyes never left hers, "I don't know."

She blinked, "You don't know it?" She then hissed feeling the bruise behind her head. She felt his worried eyes over her, "Don't give me that, he beat you up, too."

The spirit just chuckled, "That tends to happen whenever I'm with you."

Scoffing she said, "You and Yugi are a magnet for trouble." She got closer to him and place her hands on his sides. She heard him hiss in pain and told him to hold still.

"Idol, what are you doing?"

"I'm gonna heal both of our injuries so don't move." She felt the presence of the millennium scale appear to grant her access with the impossibilities. Throughout her years of the supposed discovery of the millennium puzzle, there were people who rescued her and taught her so many things. Healing was one of them. Though despite doing all this, it can take a great toll on her...maybe even kill her if she wasn't careful.

He gave her an incredulous look, "You can do that?" He wasn't used to her touching him like this. He was starting to feel nervous about her and her supposed healing deal. Suddenly, her hands were warming up and the pain in his side was going away. She moved her hand up to the back of his neck and he shuddered at her touch.

"So, what do you remember?"

It took him a while to realize she was talking to him. He didn't meet her eye nor answered her question. The injuries were then gone and she let go of him, waiting for his reply.

"All I can remember is darkness." He whispered in a low tone that she had to strain her ears to hear him, "I woke up and was met with so many memories of the boy who had solved my puzzle." He closed his eyes and she could have sworn she saw him tremble, "For a moment, I truly believed those memories were mine alone and that I was that boy but..."

"Hey, if it's hard to say, then you can refuse to tell me." She muttered not wanting him to feel bad. Finally, he smiled at her feeling a little better, "No, I want to talk about this."

She was surprised that he wanted to in the first place. She thought he'd be an ass with her but suddenly, she felt something. She wasn't supposed to. Hell, the first night she had encountered him... No, the first time she had encountered Yugi, all she wanted was to-

"Idol, you are the only one who is aware of my existence." He fiddled with the watch that they were rescuing, "Not even my host knows about me."

"Yugi." She corrected not wanting to make him feel like he was some sort of virus and he smiled at her, "Yes." He went ahead and examined her face again, "You can call me Yugi, too, if you want."

She shook her head, "I don't want you to feel like you need to merge your personalities with him, you'd be lying to yourself and if you want I'll help you gain your identity."

He stared at her in shock. There was so many questions going right through her head, yelling at her what in the name of the gods she was doing. Though with this gut feeling she had made a stand. She will be his ally and in exchange...

"I will help you look for your identity if you could return a favor."

He stared at her long and hard, "Anything."

"I need you to trust me." She held out her hand for him to take, "This is going to sound a lot but I need to gain your trust. My objective is to..." She couldn't believe that she was doing this, "To protect the millennium puzzle. That is why I am here."

His eyes narrowed, "What's in it for you?"

"Once your item is safe and we find out your identity, then my objective is complete and I can finally be at peace." She nodded at him, "I can't say much but you'll just have to trust me."

He thought over his options and thought back to his cold labyrinth. That was it wasn't? He had no options. He had empty rooms that can potentially lead him to limbo. He stared at her hand and let out the air he was holding in, "Deal." He gripped her hand and she gave him the same squeeze. Verifying his trust in her through a simple handshake. She let go and smiled at him, "Well... We should get going then, Sennen."

His brow arched in confusion, "What did you call me?"

"A nickname, if that is okay with you." She answered, "I called you a thousand years. It makes sense to say it in Japanese other than me calling you millennial." She explained and saw that his eyes soften. He brought his hand up to ruffle her hair near the back of her ear. The feel of his nails gently grazing her scalp made her shiver and her heart race at the same time, "What are you doing?" She questioned noticing how she had done the same thing to him when he was shorter. He didn't answer but he leaned towards her and gently kissed the cheek that was once injured, "Thank you."

A faint glow came from the puzzle and Yugi appeared in front of her holding the watch in his hands.

Quickly she changed her mood, "Oh, hey! Yugi, you found the watch!"

"Huh?" He glanced down at his hands, "I guess I did?"

She grabbed his wrist and dragged him away from that bloody closed room before she hears the sounds of terrors from the other man, "Come on, we have to show Honda-kun!"

"Hey! Idol! You're going to fast!" He helplessly said as he tried to keep up with her long legs.

After almost a week when that had happened, Idol finds herself in the room she's currently staying at and she stared at the millennium scale. She was sitting on the floor and she just had finished meditating. She was well aware of another presence in the room.

"To what do I owe this dubious pleasure?"

_"I am here to remind you that you have not completed your objective."_

"A change of plans." She answered to the millennium scale and she can feel the fierce anger coming from the other side.

_"I will not wait any longer."_

"You're going to have to try."

Somewhere on the far side of the city, the alarm bell echoed throughout the prison facility. Police officer scattered like bugs trying to calm the situation. This wasn't the first time this had happened and they hoped it hadn't come to this. Once the group of officers investigate one of the inmates cell, horror spread over their faces. A fellow guard was butchered and was stuck inside the locked cell. The chief growled and ordered a squad to go look for the inmate responsible for this, "Sir, it's Jirou! The Yellow Spider!"

"I don't care! Find him! Search everywhere!"

* * *

**AN:**

Whoa whoa whoa who in the hell is she talking to? And what is that criminal gonna do? Find out on the next digimon digital mons- Wait... Wrong fanfic.

So... yeah trying to be creative for the pharaoh's nickname. Since the narrator has been referring to him as Dark Yugi or the spirit of the millennium puzzle, it'll just be strange for Idol to just call him Yami out of the blue. Do not fret, dear readers, she won't be calling him that for long. Soon he will be revealed as the Pharaoh (for the love of god, please let it be soon I want to write battle cit-) Shhhh... Sh.

People have often ask me "Why don't you like or play Yu-Gi-Oh anymore?"

It's not that I don't like yugioh... I just have a love/hate relationship with it lol It all goes back when it broke my heart after highschool... Then I moved on to Magic the Gathering. And that card game broke my wallet.


	5. Chapter 5

[cue Yami Yugi's "previously on..." Wait...I don't own that...]

Chapter 5 - This Girl Is On Fire

* * *

_"Upon the wish of the former pharaoh,_

_Protect your King..."_

Finally the weekend was around the corner again and Idol was getting better at her Japanese. Yugi had offer to correct any grammar mistake or pronunciation throughout the week if she helped him with his English. She had gotten better at duel monsters now that she kept buying packs from his grandfather. Though she hadn't given herself the time to update her deck. Not that there was anyone to play with aside from Yugi. She can almost pick up on Sennen's presence even though he's not taken over Yugi. She wondered if she can probably communicate with him whilst he resides in the puzzle. Then hopefully he can finally come into contact with Yugi. That's what she had been doing after school everyday of this week aside from hanging out with Yugi at his place. She had been searching for answers about the millennium items and the first thing she thought of was Yugi's grandfather.

She had been visiting frequently now and wondered if it was getting a little to weird. She didn't want to intrude on anything even though Yugi, his grandfather (well she calls him Grandpa now since he kept reminding her to do so), and his mom told her that she was fine. Oh yeah, she had met his mother. At the most awkwardest moments. Idol can face many things in the world but she can't for the life of her talk face to face with a friend's parent. Even worse a boy's mother. Whom presumably thought Idol was dating her son. Yugi was amused to see this side of her. Idol was too shy to even speak. Little by little, Idol got used to it. She had offer to help around the shop while Yugi does his homework upstairs, she'd talk to mister- Sorry, Grandpa, about his Egyptian adventures. She then shed some light at how she was in an archaeologist program for kids back at home before she moved to Cairo, Egypt.

Whenever Yugi had finished his homework he'd come down to invite Idol to the living room for yet another challenge at whatever game they'd find aside from duel monsters. Just as she was getting better, he was close to becoming an expert finding ways to beat her in five turns. They had challenged themselves to see how many turns they can beat each other. It's even worse when they play matching games with his pairs of socks. To his mother it looked ridiculous but to them it was a battlefield.

"Hey, Yugi, I couldn't help but overhear your mom saying that Anzu used to come over a lot." Idol spoke up as she helped Yugi assemble a sheet-metal star wars millennium falcon puzzle. She noticed him stop fiddling with a piece and she looked up to see him blushing, "Well... yeah she did. She's been my best friend since elementary school."

"That's cool." Idol replied debating whether to tease him about Anzu, it was completely obvious he had a thing for her.

"Yeah, she's been very busy lately." He muttered, scratching the tip of his nose for the twentieth time.

"Is she into video games?" Idol wondered.

"Sort of, she's more into dancing."

Oh, that's something she didn't know... She was glad that Yugi had someone there for him. There was something eating at her in the back of her brain about the thought of him having feelings for his best friend. Which is absurd. She immediately pushed those feelings aside, this wasn't her field and she had more important matters anyways. She looked over to the puzzle and wondered... What if he shared those same feelings as Yugi? That's when she felt her heart dropped as if it weighed a ton. Idol, you're an idiot. Why would the spirit be wondering about that when he's preoccupied about finding out who he is?

"Idol?"

"Yes!"

Yugi tilted his head to the side at her sudden outburst and her face reddened in embarrassment, "Sorry, I've forgotten where I was for a second."

"I have something to show you." He stood up and motioned for her to follow. Which she did, he was leading her up the stairs, and then he opened a door...

"Did you just bring me, a teenage girl, into your bedroom?" Idol questioned him, "While you're mom is here?" She whispered the last part in fear.

"She won't mind, Idol." Yugi told her trying to get her to relax, "Anzu has been up here as well."

Idol didn't even stepped further and her eyes immediately went to his unmade bed. Yugi caught her stare and he shook his head so fast she thought he would get whiplash.

"Not like that!"

"What was I supposed to think!" Idol argued and she hide her face away from him, "No, it's fine. I don't want to know."

"I didn't mean to make this awkward but no... Nothing like that has ever happened to me." Yugi looked away in embarrassment.

Idol choked on her saliva as he just confessed that he was still a virgin. She really didn't need to know that and for some reason it made her relax a little. As she was finished coughing, she bit her lip and walked closer to Yugi.

"If you want to laugh, then hurry and get it out of your system!"

"Yugi, Yugi, Yugi," She chuckled but not because of that, "I honestly don't care whether or not you... Yeah but anyways, I'm not Jonouchi or Honda." She gently tilted his head so he can look at her, "I may tease you at times but I'm not really that mean and if it makes you feel any better, I'm a virgin, too."

He looked away for a second and cleared his throat and she didn't meet eye contact as well since she registered his silence.

"Thank you, Idol."

"For what?"

Yugi just smiled at her and went to retrieve something from his desk while Idol just stood there a bit awkward, "Ah! This is what I wanted to show you." He showed her the box in which the puzzle came in and Idol gasped.

"Is that?"

"This is what my puzzle came in, Grandpa has told me that you were very interested about the puzzle and I wanted to tell you the day I solved the puzzle." He took a seat on his chair and he offered her to sit on his bed. Which she did and she paid attention to what he had to say.

He told her about how he, Jounouchi, and Honda became friends because he wished for it. In all honestly, she didn't think that Sennen had anything to do with him making friends, it seemed that Yugi did that on his own. Though, she didn't want to ruin that image for him and she smiled at his innocence.

"When I solved the puzzle, I felt, I don't know how to say it but I feel different."

Idol kept her interest by resting her elbows on her knees and her head on her knuckles. Did he figure it out?

"And grandpa had ask me if I feel different as well." He held the puzzle in his hands, "Something about gaining knowledge about the shadow games."

She thought she heard some whispers, it almost sounded like the spirit, and so she looked around his room, "Did you hear something?"

Yugi wondered what she was talking about and stopped to hear...nothing, "No?"

Must have been her imagination. She stood up and walked over to him, "Yugi, I believe you, about the shadow games."

"Really?"

"Yes..." Should she tell him? She held her hands out, "Can I see the puzzle for a sec?"

"Sure." He took it off his neck and placed the golden pyramid in her hands. Suddenly, she felt a massive shock run up her arms and all she saw was white.

"Idol!" She felt someone shake her..

"Idol! Idol, please wake up!"

She blinked open her eyes despite how much her body protested. They adjusted to the light in the room...there wasn't much of it. That and the room felt a little colder than before, "Yugi?" She looked around and saw... Not Yugi.

"Sennen?"

His alarm stance relaxed a little but he was still staring at her in caution as she sat up to face him, "What happened?" She looked around noticing the area, "Are we in danger?" This was too weird, this didn't look like any place she had ever been in.

"Idol, we... we are not in any danger."

"Then how come..." She held her head, "How come you're outside? Not that I don't enjoy your company or anything."

His eyes looked around with uneasiness, "Um... I'm not outside."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that... You're inside the millennium puzzle."

What!

She stood up, not caring if she felt the blood rush to her head, and stepped around to actually see her surroundings. There were stairs, doors, on the ground, to the side, upside down, brick by brick. They were everywhere! Like a maze! She was getting dizzy.

"I'm inside a labyrinth!" Her voice had echoed out, "The puzzle is a labyrinth!"

Already on his feet, he walked over to her just to verify if she was gonna pass out again, "Yes, this is... This is where I am almost all the time."

"Any idea on how I got in?" She questioned as she placed her hand on the wall, still gazing at her surroundings in amazement.

"No, I've not the slightest idea." He crossed his arms, "Though, I can say I was trying to reach out for you and Yugi. It could be my doing."

Idol scratched her head and looked around, "Well...If I'm in here... How do I get out?" All she received is his silence and she knew very well that she is stuck here for a good while.

"So... How about we take a walk?"

Yugi felt as if he were going to hurl his dinner. He thought to be on the floor since he just awoken but he found himself standing. It was strange, he felt grains of sand in between his toes. Like if he were at a beach but he didn't hear the sound of the ocean. His eyes finally adjusted and he gasped. This was no beach.

"Where am I?"

There were tall stone pillars all around him. The floor below was stone with a hints of sand. He was outside in what appears to be a courtyard. He knelt down and saw that there were golden anklets on each side of his legs. Around his waist was a gold belt to hold the kilt that draped down to his knees. The millennium puzzle still hung around his neck.

"Why am I dressed like this...?!"

He heard shouts and grunts up ahead and so he followed it. He stayed close to the lining of pillars in case to creep behind them at any given moment. The closer he got to the voices the more the courtyard began to look like a training ground. Finally he saw a sparring match between two individuals who look around the same age as him except for the fact that they were taller than him. One of them was a boy and the other was surprisingly a girl who...

Yugi gasped, "Idol?"

She dropped down and spun the weapon she held toward the boy. The wooden stick made contact behind the heels of the boy which led him to fall on his behind. Groaning, before he could get up Idol had toward over him and pinned him with her weapon pointed at him, declaring her as the winner.

"Why can't we practice this with real weapons?"

"Because if you can't master a four foot stick then how could you possibly handle a _real_ weapon?" She hissed at him before giving him space to stand. She had dismissed him and she stopped to notice Yugi lurking behind the pillar. He wasn't aware but he just kept staring at her in a daze. Not even realizing that she had approached him.

"So... You finally decided to come out and join us?" She questioned finding his mouth open quite amusing.

"Idol! Where are we?"

She frowned at him, "What did you call me?"

"Your name?" Yugi said with confusion, _what is going on here?_

Suddenly everything seem to close in on him and he was getting dizzy. He held his head in his hands wanting all this to just stop. His vision had blackened and he found himself trying to wake himself up...wait? Wake up?

He jolted awake and he found himself in his room with the millennium puzzle in his hands, "Did I fall asleep on my chair again?"

He then realized he wasn't alone. There was Idol sleeping soundly on his bed. He disregard it as if it were a normal thing and went to turn off his bedroom light. Then he did a double take...

"IDOL?!"

"WHAT!"

Alarmed she spun out of bed and realized she wasn't in her room. Or for that matter she wasn't in a cold labyrinth anymore. Was it all just a dream?

She looked to Yugi, "How did I get here?"

"You know I'd like to joke about this but I don't know what happened, I think we both just passed out due to exhaustion." Yugi explained wondering if he should tell her about the strange dream he had. No, she'd totally laugh at him. She and him dressed in Egyptian clothing, that's ridiculous!

She nodded going along with that theory, "Yeah, that makes sense." She looked over to his goofy looking clock on his desk, "It's six in the morning, we have an hour for school." She got up to stretch which made some part of her stomach exposed. She went ahead and adjusted her uniform skirt which was twisted and slightly raised, "Well I shouldn't rush since I slept with my uniform here."

Yugi had his eyes on her the entire time and blushed at the thought that she had been asleep in the same room as him. His thoughts went to when he saw her passed out on his bed right before he turned on the lights and that didn't help his morning. He shook his head already feeling hot to his face, "Y-you should wait downstairs, I'll... I need to change."

"What would your mom say?" Idol then got scared to even step out of this room, completely unaware of Yugi's dilemma. She suddenly felt the need to jump out the window, not even caring that she was on the second floor. It's better than facing his mom although she might be still asleep... Then the smell of food filled the air. Nope. She's awake.

"I..I'll explain to her when I finish!" He said facing his closet, not wanting her to see his front side.

"Yugi, why are you all flustered?" She gave him a weird look at how his mood change, he just suddenly want her out of the room. She had offended him. It was the comment on his mom! How could you be so cruel, Idol! Quit being a little bi- Now she really wanted to jump out the window.

"YUGI~"

And that's what she did when they both heard his mother stomping up the stairs.

"Idol!" Yugi rushed over to his window, "What are you doing!"

"Escaping!" She hissed at him and then leaned over to ruffle the blonde bangs of his hair, "I'll see you at school!" Blushing he almost fell back and she climbed all the way down, making a run for it.

Then Yugi's bedroom door opened, "Yugi, I think Idol left her backpack downstai- Oh?" She paused as she saw that Yugi had fallen taken his blanket with him, "Did you fall off the bed again?"

"Yes..." He said in defeat.

[At school]

"Yo! Idol!" She heard Jounouchi called out to her as he caught her sitting at the cafeteria munching on whatever breakfast she had, "What are you doing here so early?"

She shrugged, "I had nothing better to do." There was no way she was going to tell him that she ended up sleeping at Yugi's place. Yugi will never hear the end of it. That and she didn't want to seem to be a threat to Anzu, that is if Idol knew she had a thing for him. "What are _you_ doing here so early?"

Smirking he shrugged as well, "Got nothing better to do."

She smiled at his answer, "Come keep me company and I'll give you the rest of my breakfast." His eyes lit up, "Ah! Thanks, Idol!"

After that she had gone to class... She had thought of what had happened last night. She woke up on Yugi's bed so that meant her entire being was still present in the room. Can it be that she had unconsciously stumble into the puzzle? What about Yugi? He didn't even question what happened and just played it off as something else. Idol had scratched the back of her head. If all this were to be true, then how? That night she and the spirit had walked around his labyrinth. They didn't find much but empty rooms and some filled with traps. It was peculiar. They were meant for anyone who trespassed and that meant her spirit friend, too. Though, why is that since he's in possession of the damn thing. Mr. Haner's voice broke her out of her thoughts. She reached for her book bag and realize something... She left the bloody thing at Yugi's place. She groaned and pretended she had some sort of material for class. This is going to take a while... Soon she found herself staring at the clock and it was now time to go.

"Oh, Idol?"

She stopped herself from leaving the classroom and gave her teacher a questioning look, "Yeah?"

He walked up to her and handed her the short essay assignment they just did, "Very good." Was all he said.

"Did you just grade it?" She looked at her paper front and back to see if this was a prank. He gave her an A and she hardly put any effort on it. All she did was argue what he had assigned... Oh...

"Yep." He made a popping sound at the end of the word, "Yours was the one that was more interesting."

"Ok." She gave him a small smile, still confused but rather not question the A, "Thanks."

"I've been thinking about opening up a side project for anyone who is interested, for extra points." He stated, "It's about my travels in Egypt, wondering if you were interested."

Idol stiffened and turned to face him completely to get a good look at him. She wondered if she had run into him before. Suddenly, she didn't want to be in this class anymore. Why so suddenly had he decided this? Sure he is an archaeologists but had he mentioned anything about Egypt? What should she tell him? If he finds out who she is, she'll be screwed and then she would have to leave.

"I'll think about it." She cursed herself at how soft she sounded.

He nodded nonetheless, "Cool, I'll be here."

She walked out of the class before he could call her back again and walked into Yugi's classroom to see if he or any of them are still in there. Since she was caught up in her thoughts she had run into Anzu who was just leaving, "Whoa." Anzu had caught her shoulder before either of them had fallen, "Sorry, Idol, I'm in a hurry." She smiled all too quickly before she took off leaving a confused Idol there.

"HE HAS A PISTOL!"

Idol had to cover her ears when she heard Yugi shouting and she saw Jounouchi gave her this annoyed look as if it were to say _'At least you're not sitting next to him.'_

"Yugi, sometimes I wonder where all that vocal power comes from such a small body."

This earned her a blush-glare from Yugi, "Idol! I'm almost as tall as you!"

Yugi: 5'0 ft  
Idol: 5'3 ft

Idol just stared at him before she questioned why he shouted something about a pistol. Jounouchi had filled her in about how he and Yugi wanted to go to Burger World, a restaurant that barely opened. At the sound of food, Idol's stomach growled out loud which made Jounouchi laugh at her while Yugi scolded him for being mean.

"Yeah, it's fine I didn't have money for early lunch anyways." Idol explained a little embarrassed that her stomach decided to play that way.

"So, when we had mention this Anzu got all defensive about it." Jounouchi carried on explaining, "Something about how the food is gross and stuff." Shrugging not really buying it.

"Maybe she's right..." Idol heard Yugi mutter really softly trying to back up Anzu's statement.

"Have you noticed how strange Anzu has been acting?" Jounouchi questioned staring at the classroom door suspiciously.

Idol had remembered how she had rushed out so suddenly but never really gave much thought on it.

"You guys I have a hunch..." Jounouchi said rubbing his face as if he had a beard, "I think that after school, Anzu has been going on _enjokousai_!"

Idol had gasped so hard she ended up choking on her saliva. She was bent over on a desk coughing and laughing at the same time. Yugi was next to her with a worried look, "Idol? What's wrong?" He then looked over to Jounouchi, "What's enjoy _kouhai_?" Yugi asked having this innocent look on his face. Idol had recovered when he asked that and she couldn't help but think he was really adorable. Her face had warmed up at the thought and she shook her head. Enjoy kouhai was something else, and what that meant is "enjoy mating". What Jounouchi said was something scandalous she had heard before and that's...

"It's when a girl finds an old rich man and they &amp;%! And $&amp; #!"

Yugi had a horrified look on his face and Jounouchi continued, "Rumor has it that a few girls in other classes do it for pocket money!"

That horrified look on Yugi's face turned into red rage and he began to shout again, "ANZU IS NOT LIKE THAT!"

Idol cringed since she was closest to Yugi and Jounouchi just snickered, "Jeez, look at you! You're all red, Yugi!"

"It's not true!"

Idol had a sad smile and did not want to partake in this anymore. Yes, Jounouchi's theory was laughable but she had to agree with Yugi. Anzu wasn't that type. Then again she hardly knew her. Yugi knew her almost all his life so she trusted his judgment. Poor guy, he now has a doubtful look on his face. Idol had placed a hand on his shoulder and this made Yugi look at her, "How about we go check what she's up to before we go eat?" She had suggested and Jounouchi was already down for it, "Then we can prove to Jounouchi that your crush isn't like the other girls here on campus."

At that statement his face got even redder, "Idol! That's not it at all!"

"Well then! Let's get going before we lose her!" Jounouchi stood up and made his way to the door. Idol had followed but then she made eye contact with her teacher in the other room. He had his face focused on Yugi and then changed his expression when he saw Idol. Did he see the millennium puzzle? She thought back to the assignment he had told her. If she refuses the offer would that automatically make her suspicious? Sighing inwardly she looked over to Yugi, "You go on ahead and catch up with Jounouchi, I got to speak with my sensei."

He looked up to her worriedly, "Oh? Will you be there at burger world?"

"Yeah, it won't take more than ten minutes." Idol explained and Yugi nodded but before he could step any further he felt her grab his wrist.

"Idol?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if I had offended you earlier and right now about the whole Anzu thing."

He gave her a confused look and replayed whatever had happened. Oh!

"Idol, you can never offend me." He smiled at her and let himself go, "I need to catch up with Jounouchi, I'll see you later!"

Idol watched him disappear. That boy is too forgiving for his own good. It's unreal. She felt her heart race when she imagined that smile and what he said. No on has ever done that before. It made her feel... Special. She looked over to her classroom and walked in to see a grin on her teacher's face.

"Idol, you've returned."

"Dr. Haner, I've made a decision."

"Burger World?"

"What the?"

Jounouchi and Yugi just stared at the building. One had a suspicious look and the other was uneasy. They both made their way to the entrance and suddenly Anzu had appeared wearing a waitress uniform.

"Helloooooooo~ and welcome!" Anzu chirped, "Table for two? I'll seat you in just..." Then she realized who was in front of her, "A..."

The two boys blinked at her.

"Sec..."

Blink.

She crept away from the door and away from them. Her chest felt constricted. She felt like she was gonna pop any minute. She couldn't believe those two! Why are they here! There were consequences as to why she's working there. It's against school rules and if anyone finds out she'll get expelled! That Jounouchi is a blabber mouth. She is so screwed!

Forcing herself to be polite she had sat them down in a booth and went to go get whatever they had ordered. Yugi frowned at the way she was acting, "Maybe we shouldn't have come here, Jounouchi." He felt really guilty, "She's seems very upset."

"Of course she is!" Jounouchi just get snickering, "We found out her secret."

Yugi looked out the window for a moment. Idol said ten minutes and she would have been behind them. Maybe she had gone home. I guess it's better that way. He didn't want Anzu to feel any more upset if she's seen by more people who know her. He could always buy her a combo and invite her to him home. Still... Even if he would see her tonight. He wished she would be here. Absentmindedly he was holding his puzzle at the thought of Idol. Where is she?

She was standing in front of the restaurant. How could she let this happen? Dr. Haner had her research about the incident that had happened in the nameless pharaoh's tomb. That was something she did not want to speak about. Let alone write about it. This was bad. Had he been suspicious about her from the start? She should've known that there was a former archaeologist professor there. Can he be someone who is a threat?Though, isn't all too convenient? First, Yugi had solve his puzzle, which led her to be here in search for him before anyone else could. Or before she's even killed for that matter.

With that thought alone she felt the cold barrel of the gun pressed against the back of her neck again.

"What are you doing just standing there?" She heard him hiss, "I told you to go inside already!"

She should have seen him coming prior to arriving at her destination. This had never happen before. She was more aware but this time...

"I'll blow your brains out!"

"Hey, relax now." She held her hands up and with a boring expression, "Did you even plan this out?"

"Who needs planning when I have a human shield!"

He pushed her forward and Idol stepped into the restaurant with a gun to her back. She came face to face with Anzu who did the same greeting. She stopped to sea distressed...

"Idol?"

Anzu then felt her body fall back, "Get out of the way!" Idol had roughly shoved her to the side and as a result the man behind her grabbed her close to his and the gun was now to her temple.

"LISTEN UP! Make any movements or noise and this chick gets it!"

Everyone else in the restaurant looked up in alarm. Once they see the threat of a gun, all of them cower in fear. All their whispers about an escape criminal filled the room. The man behind her growled. He ordered everyone to put their hands above their heads and lower their heads onto the table. Those who stood up like idiots had to face down with their arms out. Idol frowned seeing that Yugi was one of them. That idiot. Sometime she's fond of him but in times like this when he's stupid, she hated him.

"Escaped criminal? You get out of prison and the first thing you do is come to a restaurant?"

Idol then had the gun in her mouth, "If you don't shut up, then say goodbye to that pretty mouth of yours."

If she dies today, there's a chance that she'll get laughed at and humiliated right before she gets resurrected as something stupid. Maybe this time they'll go so far to resurrect her as a jackass. If she dies today, then Yugi will be an even more open target and she'll live with that failure above her head. No. She can't give up, yet. She has to at least get Yugi away from here. She needs to get rid of this gun somehow.

"Listen here, stupid," her attention was sent to the man with the gun, "I'm going to remove the gun from your mouth and blindfold you. Do anything stupid and I'll blow your brains away, got it?"

She nodded not able to speak. She was able to breath again when the gun was removed. _There's three sevens on this man's forehead..._ Idol thought but why would it make a difference. He was wearing an inmate uniform. His hair was greased up due to lack of proper cleaning. He took out a bandana from his pocket and placed it over her eyes, the last thing she saw were _his_.

"When a human's eyesight is blocked, they become more frightened!" He chuckled evilly. _Good thing I'm not human._

She tried to sense a nearby millennium item as she was led to sit down in a booth. She could feel the body heat of the man who kept her hostage right next to her. He had his hand on the back of her neck and she figured the gun was pointed at her from his other hand.

"Now I need someone to bring me whatever I want!" She heard him shout as a millennium eye appeared on her forehead, _"Whatever you do, don't get involved."_

"You! The weak-looking shrimp!"

Yugi was surprised to see a gun pointed at him. He looked around before pointing to himself, "Yeah, you!" The criminal, Jirou, waved his gun around, "The rest of you on the floor and don't move or else I'll shoot the girl and you!"

_"Too late, Idol... Don't do anything stupid."_

Idol gritted her teeth as Jirou continued to give out orders, "BRING ME BOOZE AND SOME SMOKES!"

Yugi had brought a tray of what the man had desired, he kept his eyes focused on Idol. He felt his hands shake. He was scared. For his life and for Idol's. Cursing under his breath. He hated this. Why was he such a coward? Idol needs him. Why can't he be strong?

_Aibou..._

He felt his heart race though at the same time it didn't feel like his heart.

Idol, although she was blind, turned to face Yugi as he approached them. She gritted her teeth and lifted her blind fold. Her gold eyes landed on his crimson eyes, "Yugi, you idiot! Leave!"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!"

She was smacked across the face by the gun he held. She saw from her peripherals a white flash as the gun made contact with her temple. She held the side of her cheek bone and she groaned in pain as she was crouched over the table. Yugi's expression darkened and he growled. _How dare he harmed her!_

"Here's what you ordered!" She heard dark Yugi's voice.

"Who the hell said you could sit here?!" She felt herself being pulled upward and close to her capture. Her vision wasn't disoriented anymore and all she saw was his gun pointed to Yugi, who had no problem with that. He wore a smirk and shrugged, "What? I thought I'd keep you two company." He pointed to Jirou, "If you have guts, then why don't we play a game?"

"A game?" Jirou sized him up. This little boy suddenly acts so bold but... No, he's nothing. Jirou reached over for the pack of cigarettes and bit on one of them, "Hmm... I accept your little game. I need to have fun after all."

"Then why not gamble?" Idol had muttered out which resulted Jirou to squeeze his hand around the back of her neck, "I've had enough of your smart ass comments!" He took the bandana away from her eyes and used it as a gag, "After I'm done with this kid, then you'll learn to choke on it."

Idol had only glared at him.

"Let's discuss the losing and winning outcomes of this game." Dark Yugi interrupted, not wanting Idol to go on and say something stupid, "The loser of this game will lose their life."

Jirou chuckled to himself, "What are the rules?" He thought this was stupid. Really... He could just end this kids life right then and there. That's all it took. Just a twitch of his finger and this Yugi kid will decorate the seat with his blood. Jirou played the scene in his head and chuckled while pouring his drink.

"The rules are simple." Yugi held out two of his hands, "We each choose one of our ten fingers. The finger you choose will be the only one you can move."

"Heh, heh, I will choose my right index finger!" Jirou held up the hand with the gun, "All I need to kill you is this finger on the trigger!"

Dark Yugi's smirk didn't falter, "Then I'll use my right thumb."

Idol's heart raced as she watched him. What in the hell was he going to do with just his thumb? _Spirit, if this man shoots you, I may have to risk my life. Maybe then you will run._

"You can do whatever you'd like with the finger you chose once the game starts."

Jirou just chuckled, "I plan to!"

"Game start!"

The gun faced Yugi, "And now it's game over, you idiot!"

Yugi leaned over with the lighter. Idol and Jirou froze for a sec. At any rate, the rag in Idol's mouth will be chewed apart. She was ready to tackle the guy if she needed to. Wait...why does her skirt feel like it's getting wet on the side.

"Oh right, the cig hasn't been lit yet." Jirou leaned his head slightly forward and took a puff from the lighter.

"Here, you can have it back." Yugi let the lighter fall on top of Jirou's hand where he's...still pouring the alcohol! He almost gasped but he remembered there was a cigarette in his mouth. He couldn't move now! If the lighter falls, the alcohol will light his body up. Idol was just as scared to move. Now what?

"Don't fire your pistol, either!" The spirit chuckled, "You'll definitely make the lighter fall that way!" Yugi had left his side of the table and walked over to Idol. Jirou gritted his teeth and set his gun to the table whilst removing the lighter on his hand, "You won't get away, you bastard!" Idol jumped back seeing it was safe and had kicked the underside of Jirou's jaw before he picked up his gun. Idol then tackled Yugi to the ground as she saw the cigarette fall out of his mouth...

"FIRE!"

Jirou stood up, his body engulfed in flames, he made a run for it trying to extinguish the flames, "HELP!"

Idol looked over to the dark spirit who was still under her, "You're an idiot!"

He just glared at her, "You're welcome."

She grabbed his collar, "I don't care if I'm in danger! If you or Yugi's life is on the line you better run for it, understand?"

He grabbed her wrists so she can let him go, "You can't ask me to do that." He sat up, not fully aware that this made her straddle him, "Besides you promised me that you'd help me uncover the secrets of the millennium puzzle, how would you do that if you were dead?"

She didn't reply but only glared as he did the same. Both of them are becoming a pain in the ass. She felt herself sigh and the boiling pot in her head had let out its steam. She leaned back and crossed her arms not making eye contact with him, "Thank you." More like an apology than gratitude but he took it anyways and nodded.

"Erm...?" They both hear Jounouchi who had joined them, "Am I interrupting anything?"

Idol just gave him a confused look and she looked over to see him blush for a sec and retreated letting Yugi take over who was just in shock as to why he was on the floor with Idol on top of him. Idol glared, "Yugi! You pervert!"

"W-whaaat!"

"Yugi, you dog! At a time like this!" Jounouchi burst out in laughter while Yugi was at a loss of words.

"I didn't do anything!"

* * *

**AN:**

I keep forgetting I have to write in a teenager's mind. I have to like remind myself that Idol and Yugi are like what fifteen/sixteen? lmfao man and then I thought to myself "What did I do when I was a sophomore?" Then I realized how much time I fucking spent on Yugioh and how much my parent's money went to my dark magician deck. I can hear my mother right now, "You still playing with those yugioh cards?" It was always during gym class. It was strange cause I remember the coach's always had us do something when I was a freshman and now they look at us nerds and I guess they just gave up on us like, "Oh screw it just let them play their card game". hahahaha

So yeah everyone who I played yugioh with was either a douche bag or a whiny bitch. It was like this: Out of five Seto Kaibas, you get one Weevil or Rex whatever... So I remember dueling this kid with a 5Ds deck and I did the Yami Yugi dick move where I control one of his monsters and sacrificed it for one of mine and I can hear him bitch about it like, "Yoooou can't dooo that! That's illegal and that card is banned!"

And I'm here laughing like, "Whaaaat?" all my friends were laughing too like I had no idea at the time change of heart was banned because I obviously didn't play competitively then and all of us played old school haha So I was like ok, ok...That play never happened I put my change of heart out of the game and then... I played the other dick move. The card is called Magical Dimension. Basically, his monster was still gonna die, still bitched, I still won. That's it folks. Game over. ...What?

Well enough about my life, eh whatever I'm most likely talking to myself anyways lol I highly doubt this story gets readers anyways. But anywho for those who actually read this, you are almost catching up to my drafts, I haven't touched chapter 7 for a while but I should come back to it after the weekend because I made a promise to myself to never drunk write again... a hue hue hue hue hue~

Later guys!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: No! My Black Lotus!

* * *

Idol looked like she hadn't slept in days. Scratch that... It's been literally three days since she hasn't slept at all. Her body was now forcing her to take mini naps here and then. It was unpleasant. Especially since she dozed off at the most random times. The dreams were even fucked up. She always felt that she was being pulled away from her body and go through an out of body experience. It was so sudden and so quick that when she wakes up it feels as if she had fallen back to earth. This made her stomach drop and jolt awake at any moment or when someone just called out her name. At this point she is not a heavy sleeper and her body will be at alert at all times. Yeah, very unpleasant.

From Yugi's home:

"Idol?" She woke up so suddenly and gasped when she heard Yugi's grandpa call on her, "I think you should go on home, you're falling asleep again."

To lectures at school:

"Idol!" Dr. Haner called.

She sprung up from her desk, "I activate my trap card!"

"Excuse me?" The entire class just laughed at her as she sunk back to her seat.

And with friends:

"Hey, Jounouchi! Earth to Jounouchi!" Yugi called, "Hey, are you in there? It's your move!"

"Sorry, Yug. I'm kinda concerned about Idol." Jounouchi pointed at the sleeping girl who was supposed to keep score.

"She's been dozing off a lot lately, I wonder what's wrong?" Anzu had been watching her. Ever since Idol had moved her out of harms way from that incident in burger world she had grown to respect her, almost admiring her. Anzu had reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder and this got her to wake up, "Sorry, I'm okay." Idol had rubbed her eyes not even bothering to explain. Though this didn't convince everyone... Like Miho.

"But Miho is worried!"

Idol just felt all eyes on her and she felt a little self-conscious, "Don't worry guys, I've been listening to you all play duel monsters." She had given them a small sleepy smile, "And I can prove it too!" She looked over to Jounouchi and with a sly grin she said, "So, I heard this is the third time that Yugi has beaten you!"

Jounouchi just glared, "Go back to sleep!"

"Make me!"

He ignored her and carried out his turn, "I place this card in attack mode!" He crossed his arms feeling very proud at what he just did, "Pretty good, huh, Yug?" Anzu had tugged Idol's sleeve, "Why haven't you been sleeping?" Even if she kept it at a low tone, there was no way the boys would've been paying attention anyways. Yugi was too busy explaining to Jounouchi how he could use his monster cards more wisely and Honda was too busy making fun of Jounouchi.

Miho had appeared on her other side and Idol just stared at them feeling a little anxious, "Well... Don't tell this to anyone else but ever since that incident at Burger World, I've been having nightmares about it."

"No way!" Anzu gasped which made Yugi looked over to them and Idol sent her a look. Miho played it off as if she didn't hear anything and Anzu just whispered, "Why don't you want anyone to know? This is serious, you know? I mean... Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"Oh thanks, Anzu." Idol rolled her eyes, "I just don't want anyone to be worried about me but thanks for your thoughts."

"I didn't mean it that way, Idol!" Anzu and Idol just glared at each other while Miho tried to change the subject to prevent her friends from arguing amongst each other. Idol then sighed, lack of sleep was taking its toll on her. She wasn't lying about the nightmares but there was something else that was bothering her.

Their sensei had walked in and Idol crept to the seat behind Anzu, "Yo, would your sensei notice that there's a random student skipping class here?" Idol whispered to her.

"Idol, if you're caught you might get suspended." She sternly told her, "This school is very strict with that, just to warn you, though I'd be more worried if someone decidedly ratted you out."

Idol just stared at her, "Would you?"

"Of course I wouldn't."

"So can I stay behind you?"

"Idol, I don't even sit here."

She just slumped her shoulders while Honda had went on another of his beautification rants. He's very passionate about that.

"Don't worry, Idol! Miho will be right in front of you!" Miho said as she took Anzu's seat, "You're lucky Takahashi-kun didn't arrive today!" She said with a wink. Idol felt someone tapped her shoulder and it was Yugi, who sat next to her, "Idol, here's the land mat you brought today." He handed over the play mat he was using for duel monsters. She leaned over to get it and he leaned to her ear, "Idol, I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Yugi, one day I'll teach you to be a rebel."

"You're starting to sound like Jounouchi."

Idol hadn't realized that Honda was lecturing the class about illegal duel monster cards. How is it a beautification member's job to regulate that? If anything that was something for people who run tournaments or those who sell the licensed cards... Like Yugi's grandfather. Idol had been giving Yugi's grandfather the idea of hosting mini tournaments in his living room to attract more customers and keep their loyal customers. Their sensei had cleared his throat, "Mind if I interrupt?" Honda had stopped talking which caused a few snickers from the other students including Idol. He went back to his seat as their sensei went ahead and took over, "Today, let's begin by introducing a new student."

Idol had froze for a moment thinking she got caught but then she heard Yugi mutter enthusiastically, "I wonder who it is, I hope it's someone who likes games."

She couldn't help but smile, "Of course you would think that." she whispered more to herself than anything. She heard the door slide open and she curiously watched who this new kid was. Now she won't have that "new kid" attention anymore. The new student was a boy who was dressed more of a high status uniform. Idol's heart dropped as she recognized him.

"He's Kaiba Seto-kun." Sensei had introduced and the new student gave a genuine smile, "Nice to meet you all."

Idol gulped as it was confirmed. This was bad. Not because the top class amusement industry heir was here. It's the fact that they had met before and Seto Kaiba knows her true identity. She shouldn't have skipped class. Idol kept her head low so that he won't see her. Maybe he won't even recognize her, after all it's been quite a while. When the sensei mentioned that there was an empty seat next to Yugi, she freaked out even more. He was going to head back here.

"Hey!" Yugi greeted. _"Good job, Yugi. Keep him from looking over here."_ Idol thought to herself as she slumped forward on her desk. She watched as Seto had picked up a duel monster card from the floor and had given it to Yugi. As Yugi thanked him, he had ask if he was into games.

"Yeah, I love them." This was too strange to look at. He is too nice for her liking. Idol again froze as he made eye contact with her. For a split second, she saw a change in his eyes. There was no doubt recognition in them but Seto didn't make any expression about it, or said anything. All he did was change his smile into a smirk. Idol kept her poker face and nodded at him, unaware that her jaw had clenched. _"Let's just make it through the day."_

Idol had paid no attention to the lecture since this wasn't her class anyways. Her mind had drifted back to when she was in America. After she had left her hometown, California, she'd been travelling with a group of criminals with her old best friend across the country. There in America were led by a corrupt doctor of archaeology and his right hand man was a bandit called Royaru. The real leader was rumored behind an unknown clan outside the country. Idol didn't have much knowledge of this. The group called themselves rare hunters. Though, obviously that is not how they would introduce themselves. They gambled and won so many rare artifacts, sold, traded, and on the side stole them. Of course one of things they collected were duel monsters. It is how she got exposed to it. Since she got good at duel monsters competitively, the bandit named Royaru had encourage her to compete at nationals and that was how she met Seto Kaiba. Everything was going as planned, until they told her to cheat. She never cheated. Though, they could care less about her pride in the game. All they wanted was his infamous rare card. Another thing she didn't expect was her best friend's sudden emotional collapse about Seto Kaiba which cost her the duel. To sum it all up, Seto and her competed, she got disqualified, and now they are here.

As the bell rang, Seto had collected his stuff and stood before her and Yugi, "I knew I recognize you from somewhere, I didn't think you'd be here in Domino City."

Yugi looked at him in confusion before he looked over to Idol who wore a distraught look. _"For fucks sake, Kaiba, not here in front of Yugi!"_ She screamed internally.

"I say, it's been a while..._Idol_." He smirked as he knew he was getting to her.

"Idol, you know Kaiba-kun?" Yugi had snapped her out of it and she melted into a smile for him, "Yeah, I met him through nationals duel monster tournament." She looked over to Seto to see if he was going to say anything else but his smirk disappeared and he nodded at her explanation, "She's correct, back then we were the only young duelists there. We were twelve years old at the time."

Yugi's face molded into excitement, "Ah! That's awesome, Idol! You never told me that!"

"Such a shame, you never told him? It was really exciting wasn't Idol?" Seto added in just to tick her off.

Idol finally decided to play along, "Yeah, but I didn't make it in the tournament anyways so there isn't much to say about it."

"Hm, I wonder why you got out..." Seto thought out really loudly and Idol had stood up to face him, "I don't want to talk about this anymore." She muttered to him and Seto knew that he had won as he leaned forward, "I won't be the one to reveal your true identity..._Natalie_." He whispered her real name so low that only she could hear it, "But Yume might."

Idol jumped back, "YUME'S HERE?"

Yugi was shocked at her outburst, "Idol, what's wrong?" He stood up and looked at her worriedly, "Kaiba-kun? What happened?"

Seto shook his head and smiled at him, "Idol is just upset because I reminded her of her loss at nationals, I apologize Idol, I really do."

Idol didn't even hear the apology as she felt herself shaking, _"Why is it that suddenly everyone from my past is coming back out of the blue?"_

Kaiba just had to bring out Yume though there was one thing they had in common... They both did not want her here.

"Who's Yume?" Yugi asked which made Idol's head shrunk down to the desk at the memory of her old best friend:

[In a Not So Distance Past - The Ruins of Thebes Palace]

There was music echoing throughout the entire throne room. No one minded it. They've been in that same room since five in the morning and it's barely noon. Each student had a job of searching for hieroglyphics (and try to translate it) or any particular object that appealed to them (aside from the throne itself because everyone chooses the one thing that pops out in the damn room) and write as to why it is appealing to them. Yume on the other hand took it to the next level.

She had balanced herself on top of the throne. Her feet were either side of the arm rests. She shook her hips to the music and waved her hands as if she were at a disco. Then she started to sing...

"YOU CAN DANCE~

YOU CAN JIVE~

HAVING THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE~"

Idol stomped forward, clearly pissed off that her group partner had not been paying attention for the past hour, "Yume! Quit drawing attention to yourself!"

"SEE THAT GIRL~?"

She points to a fuming Idol.

"WATCH THAT SCENE, DIGGING THE DANCING QUEEN~"

"Yume, I swear you're going to get smite by all the dead pharaohs any damn minute!"

"Aw come on, Nazz!" Yume whined and then smirked, "Don't be such a SPAZZ!" Her shoulders shook while she laughed at the stupid comment she made on her friend's nickname, "Just have a little fun! I'm sure the dead kings don't mind!"

Idol just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as her friend continued to act stupid. Why must all adults be stupid?

Yume: age 19  
Idol (Natalie): age 14

"YOU ARE THE DANCING QUEEN~"

Idol, back to present day, had a sick look to her face. She can still hear the word "queen" haunt her ears to this day. She jumped at the sound of Yugi closing his locker and went to grab her wrist, "Come on, Idol, Kaiba-kun wanted to tell us something before he leaves."

She didn't do anything but let herself be dragged. She was stopped in front of a limo and Yugi had let go of her wrist. Wait... Idol had stared down at her wrist and she immediately regretted getting lost in her head. She felt a pat on her back and she looked over to see Jounouchi, "Idol, you look like you're about to barf." He commented.

"Thanks, Jou..."

"It was rich boy wasn't it?" He nodded as if he answered his own question, "My theory is correct, he is no good!"

The limo had drove off and Miho squealed, "Ah! What a great car!"

"Hey, Yugi!" Anzu asked excitedly, "You're getting along already?"

"Kaiba-kun is going to show me his card collection." Yugi answer with a smile and looked over to me, "Wanna come, Idol, he invited you too?"

She was hesitant at first though before she replied, Miho had cut in, "Kaiba-kun's house?! Miho wants to go too!"

Yugi looked at everyone else, "Let's all go! I'm sure he'll be pleased!"

"Oh, he'll be pleased." Idol muttered to herself though Jounouchi heard her and he smirked nudging her, "For Yugi's sake, let's go." he told her.

And so they did...

"Hey!"

Idol, who was watching the massive front lawn from behind the gate, had looked over to Jounouchi shouting, "Isn't there a law against an individual having such a large house!"

"Of course not!" Anzu replied.

Honda had arrived on a bicycle with Miho sitting at the end. He halted to a stop and panted heavily from having to ride a long way and carry two weights.

"No taxi ride?" Anzu asked innocently earning a glare from Honda.

~"Hey everyone, glad you made it. Please, come in." A voice was heard from a speaker nearby and when it ended the gates have opened. Idol walked more closely to Jounouchi with a bored expression, as Yugi was in front leading them all, clearly excited to see Kaiba and his card collection. Her inner hunting instincts had kicked in at the idea of looking at someone's collection but if it was Seto Kaiba then she really doesn't give a sh-

The massive doors had open and Seto was there to greet them all, he was surprised that Idol was there as well and smiled nonetheless, "Everyone came? I am so pleased!"

But... Why? Idol the entire time had been secretly watching Kaiba. Why was he acting so nice? Even though she did not know him personally but the last time they dueled he left a bad impression. No, it wasn't the fact that he's an arrogant, spoiled brat. It was of what happened between him and her best friend, Yume. Idol isn't a big fan of her dear old friend anymore but she still felt empathy at what had happened to her. And she hated Kaiba for it. He had hurt Yume. Idol's eyes narrowed as she spotted him close to Yugi.

Yugi's face showed her that he was having the time of his life and Kaiba was only just playing along. Idol's stomach sank at her conclusion. He was going to hurt Yugi. Her fists clenched at the thought and then she heard Jounouchi, "That polish pig! I dislike him more and more."

Idol nodded in agreement as she crossed her arms.

"He can't be that bad." Honda had said and Idol bit her lip, thinking what was Kaiba up to?

Idol's mouth had hanged open at the amount of cards he had. For just one individual this was pretty impressive. Then again Seto had money and money always talks. She walked over to the trophies and there were photographs of him holding them with sponsors and what not. She found one with him and Pegasus. She gave a half-smile, "He really went that far." She found herself whispering and didn't realize Yugi was next to her, and then Seto followed.

"Idol! You're in this photo!" Yugi exclaimed in excitement. She jumped at his sudden outburst and looked to where he was pointed at. She relaxed when she saw her name was nowhere on display.

"Yes, those are the ones who made it to the final rounds." Seto explained, "One of the memorable tournaments I had."

"Idol, is this the time where you were twelve?" Yugi asked as his eyes never left the photo.

"Yeah." Idol answered then was embraced by Miho from behind, "Ah! Idol plays duel monsters!"

"Oi, Idol, are you any good?" Jounouchi grinned at her, "We need to play!"

For once, Idol wanted all the attention to go back to Seto. Even though he said he wouldn't say anything about her identity, she was still afraid that he might mention something.

"Idol, your hair was shorter then." Yugi observed.

She blinked and hadn't noticed how long and how a little wavy it was getting, "Yeah I totally forgot how it made my face look chubby." She clapped her cheeks with both hands and made a face.

"I think that's the least of your problems, _Idol_." Seto said smirking to the distance and she just shot him a glare. Miho had let go of Idol and walked over to Seto and asked him about his amusement park. This took Honda's attention away from her photograph along with Jounouchi teasing Honda for being jealous.

Idol looked back at her younger self one last time before...

"Idol," Yugi had called her with a smile and she had given him her attention, "You look cute with short hair."

The blood went straight to her face as she had not expect that from Yugi. She was so in shock that she forgot how to express her gratitude for a compliment. Anzu, too, had heard Yugi's comment and narrowed her eyes a bit. Finally, Idol, found her words and she grinned, "Thanks, Yugi!" She ruffled his hair.

"Idol, not my hair!"

"Yugi!" Seto chimed in, thank god, "I forgot to ask you if you had any rare cards."

Yugi had finished fixing his hair (how?!) and replied, "Uh... No, I don't have any."

"Hold up, what about the rare card that your grandfather has?" Anzu mentioned and Yugi finally remembered, "Oh, right..."

Idol's eye twitched as she thought of how would Anzu know about this information when she doesn't play the game. Idol remembered that she was the only one who would go over and play duel monsters and talk to Yugi's grandfather about duel monsters.

Jounouchi and Honda had ganged up on Yugi, pressuring him into showing Kaiba the card. Yugi pursed his lips as he thought about it, "Well then..."

"Excellent!" Seto had cut him off, "I'll definitely look forward to it!"

_"Oh, great, then bribe the hell out of the Mutous, too."_ Idol thought and if looks could kill then Kaiba would drop dead.

At the Kame Game Shop...

Idol leaned against the glass counter as everyone was just dying to see the super special awesome rare card that apparently Yugi's grandfather has. Idol was also curious as to which one he owned. Though, she wasn't too excited. She's seen and hunted her fair share of rare cards. She doesn't own them anymore, though...

Yugi practically had to place his hands together and begged, "Please, grandpa! Please, show us your card!"

Idol had chuckled at how adorable he was acting. Like a child on Christmas Day, no wonder people confuse him as a kid.

"My best card?"

Yugi nodded and Seto bowed a little, "Yes, definitely show it!"

"Looks like I've got no choice." Yugi's grandfather chuckled and proceeded to look for the card, "Now where did I leave it?"

"I wonder what it is!" Miho exclaimed and now Idol felt the excitement in the room. She leaned forward on Kaiba's side to see as well. Seto not caring how close she was as he, too, was fixated on the upcoming card. Grandpa came back up with the card, "Here it is!"

Seto and Idol had gasped, "BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON!" Both had shout in unison and they stared at each other. It looked as if they had a mental conversation with one another..

_"Don't you dare!"_

_"I have money."_

_"You fucking asshole!"_

Idol gritted her teeth expecting him to bring out his check book any minute. She crossed her arms as Grandpa Mutou explained the rarity of the card even though she and Kaiba knew it.

"This card is so powerful that they stopped producing it," he chuckled, "Huge fans and collectors will go crazy about it."

"Like Kaiba..." She muttered as she saw Kaiba go forward and place the briefcase he always carries around and opens it to show him...cards? Cards?! CARDS?!

"Please take this offer! I will trade you all of these cards for the Blue Eyes White Dragon."

Honda, Jounouchi, Yugi, and Idol's eyes were like saucers, "AMAZING!"

Idol on the other hand was freaking out at the fact that Kaiba carries around duel monsters in a damn briefcase!

"No." Grandpa said without hesitation.

"THAT REFUSAL WAS ALSO AMAZING!"

Idol had burst out in laughter that she had to hold her stomach and prevent herself from falling over and crying.

"There's no way?" Kaiba desperately asked, "What about money? I'll give you anything you want!"

Grandpa looked at him in the eye again tucking his blue eyes away and said, "No."

Kaiba was flabbergasted! No one ever refused him! No one!

"Kaiba-kun right?" Grandpa asked, "I know how you feel but this card means a lot to me. I'm not keeping it just because it's rare but because this card was a gift to me from a dear friend in America." He looked over to a photograph of what Idol assumed to be his American friend, "This card is a treasured memory. There is no way I can part with it."

Idol smiled at his words while Kaiba's shocked face became enraged.

"Truly precious treasures have your heart in it. This card has mine." Grandpa explained and Idol tilted her head to the side in confusion, "That is why Kaiba-kun should cherish each card in your trunk."

Idol looked over to him to see if he was going to pop but he didn't. Kaiba suppressed whatever rage filled thoughts he had in his head and forced a smile, "You're right, I was mistaken." He closed his briefcase and made his way to the exit, "I think I'll go home now."

And then he was gone. Everyone else admired Grandpa's speech about the heart of the cards but Idol stared out into the window just as confused as the departed Kaiba.

Later on in the night it was only her and Yugi. He had invited her to stay for dinner and she couldn't pass up free meals. As Yugi had finish, he'd got up from his spot to stretch, "I'm sleepy."

Idol had been quiet and kept staring off to the distance, "Yugi?"

"Hm?"

"I don't understand what your grandfather said... About the heart of the cards." She had gone up to walk over to her deck, "These are just new cards that we both got from this shop, I chose these cards because they go well with each other and to make sure I have something to play every turn." She picked up five cards and saw her combo appear, "How does the heart of the cards work?"

Yugi had walked over to her and held the cards she drew and placed a monster down with a magic card, "Because each card you chose was for a reason, no? This card appealed to you and you trust that this card will win you a battle, am I right?"

"I think so?"

"You have faith in your skills?"

"Of course."

"Then you must have faith in the cards you draw and play?"

Idol's eyebrows furrowed and thought of every time she had ever played the game: going back to that tournament... She had beaten every opponent up until Kaiba.

"I never lost a game, only got disqualified. But when I duel you..." She looked over to Yugi, "It's fun, because you're more challenging to beat because you have the best cards."

Yugi chuckled, "Not _the_ best cards, Idol." He leaned closer to her, "I don't have Blue Eyes."

"Heaven forbid you ever get a blue eyes." She snickered as she nudged him. He nudged her back while laughing with her. They stopped laughing and just stared at each other, eye to eye. Yugi began to blush and Idol broke eye contact as she bit her lip, "Thank you," she said, "I kinda understand... I think."

Yugi smiled and gave her a wink, "I'll show you one day, then."

The Next Day...

Idol had helped Honda assembled his deck and Yugi helped Jounouchi during lunch time. Now they were helping them duel, Idol was behind Honda coaching him along the way. Idol and Yugi had to try their best not to play back seat driver, so Yugi ended up being referee and call out hints on either side.

"You can do this, Honda-kun!" Idol cheered and nodded as he picked out a duel monster card, "I summon zombie!" He placed his card on one side of the play mat, "And I choose the graveyard!"

ATK: 800  
DEF: 500

Idol grinned as she thought it was the perfect strategy to start things out. Jounouchi had played a dragon card that had a high attack power of 1500 points. He cheered thinking that he won. Yugi then explained how Honda is the winner by showing them the differences between the fields on the play mat. Since the zombie card was on the graveyard his attack points are doubled. 16001500.

"Damn it!" Jounouchi slammed his cards down and Idol couldn't stop laughing. Honda gave a victorious smile, "My cards have the beautification's heart within them!" He winked at Idol, "Thanks for the help."

"A beautification like you as a zombie would be pretty dirty!" Jounouchi retorted as he stood up from his seat. Idol had rolled her eyes, _"Here we go again."_

Honda chuckled, "Don't be a sore loser."

Just then Anzu and Miho had walked in and greeted them. Idol deterred herself away from the boys and went to go join them at the door.

"Are they going at it again?" Anzu asked Idol and Miho spoke up, "Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun have started to play duel monsters, too?"

"Yeah," Idol shrugged and she answered Miho, "They want to see if they can take on Kaiba." She stared back at them with narrowed eyes, _"Now if they stopped bickering like a couple, then maybe they can level up a bit."_

"That's _THIS_ guy!" Honda and Jounouchi shouted at the same time and looked at each other, "WHAT?!"

_"What did I tell you?"_ Idol thought to herself and then suddenly jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Oh speak of the devil... Kaiba had walked up next to her and greeted, "Good morning, everyone." He looked down at her and smirked, "Idol, you're so jumpy."

"And you're a prick." She grumbled to herself.

Kaiba walked over to Yugi, "Oh, Yugi, by the way, about that phone call from last night..." Idol sent both of them a questioning look as she thought, _"Phone call? What phone call?"_

"Oh, yeah!" Yugi gave his usual boyish grin and nodded at Kaiba, "I asked Grandpa and he let me borrow it for the day."

Idol's ears twitched at what he said. She shook her head realizing what Yugi was about to do. No, no, no, NO!

"Thank you, thank you!" Kaiba cheered, "I've wanted to see it again so badly! Grandpa taught me to love cards and I can see it clearly now!"

She gave off this disgusted look at his unusual behavior and gasped as Yugi handed over the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba took it out of his hands and he admired it so dearly. You could practically see him drooling. He moved the card in the direction of the light so he can see the holographic shininess to it. His finger caressed the letters of the Blue Eye's name as he knew how real this card is. "Wow! It's amazing every time I see it!" One hand had reached into his pocket and Idol had caught that. She can feel her jaw clenched as Kaiba thanked Yugi and proceeded to give the card back to him. Kaiba accidentally dropped the card in front of Yugi and he apologized as he went to pick up the card. Idol's eyes narrowed at how much of an amateur Kaiba is about stealing one's card. She glared over at Yugi who appeared to not notice, _"You stupid boy!"_

"This card..." Kaiba spoke giving back the card, "It shines when the rightful owner has it." He thanked Yugi again before stepping out of the class. Idol stared at the door for a while before walking towards it. She felt a tug at her sleeve and she looked over to see it was Yugi.

"You're leaving already, Idol?" He asked so innocently and Idol can feel how conflicted she was when he is the way he is. There was a clash in her feelings. She was mad at him and the other felt something else. She tugged back her sleeve away from him and averted her eyes away from his, "Goodbye, Yugi." Was all she said as she stepped out and followed Kaiba. Yugi just stood there and he could feel her dislike towards him. Was it something he had done? He could not recall at what he said at her offense. Then he felt guilty. He didn't know why but watching Idol leave like that made his heart feel heavy.

_"Idol..."_

There was a very faint voice at the back of his mind. For a second, he thought it was somebody else's voice. Though, seeing as everyone else is busy with their own thing, it couldn't be. Maybe he was already going crazy. He shook his head and went back to his seat.

Over to Idol, she was purposely following Kaiba at a distance where he noticed her. Kaiba knew she was behind him so he kept walking at his own casual pace as he saw Idol or anyone for that matter nonthreatening.

"I don't care what you saw, I won't admit to anything." He made his way to the stairs that lead to the roof.

"How do you know I was going to accuse you of something?" She crossed her arms as she watched him made his way across the roof and stared off. She could hear him chuckling, "That boy of yours is really stupid and naive." He smirked over at her, "You should thank him for me when I leave this school for good."

"That boy is my friend and you have something that belongs to his grandfather!"

He chuckled even more, "Oh, you are truly hilarious!" He gave her a wicked grin, "Even if I object what are you going to do then, _Natalie_?"

It's been long since she has been called that. All Idol could do was glare at him, "You know it's weird to find you in a place like this with that kid." Kaiba went off, "Can it be that you went back to your hunter ways? Is this..." He showed her the Blue Eyes White Dragon, "What you were going after?"

She smirked, "Even if I wanted to go for a card like that Kaiba, I would have already and put it over your head just to have the pleasure in watching you beg for it like the hungry dog you are."

He cackled at her insult, "Natalie, you come here an act like the righteous hero but you are nothing! In fact, you are just dirty like me and a copy of _Yume_!"

Idol growled at him, "Don't you dare compare you and Yume to me! I am no one but _ME_!"

"Natalie, you never grew out of the hunter's shadow, you will always be the bad guy!" Kaiba smirked, "Would you like me to do the honors and show your true colors to little Yugi?"

Idol pulled out something from her uniform blouse and revealed it to be a duel monster deck, "I don't care what you tell Yugi, Kaiba, but that won't stop me from dueling you and taking that card back."

He rolled his eyes and brought his own deck out, "Prepared to loose again."

"Shut up and duel!"

Meanwhile... As class was about to finish, Jounouchi had stepped out first and noticed that Idol hadn't come by to their class. He went over the other classroom across the hall to see Mr. Haner putting his stuff away.

"Oi, Sensei," He called out as Mr. Haner looked over to him with a questioned look not recognizing the student, "Yes?"

"Was Idol in class today?" Jounouchi asked.

Mr. Haner scratched his head as thought about that troublesome girl. It was strange she had passed every assignment and test but her attendance was becoming a bother, "No, she wasn't."

Jounouchi gasped at the thought that maybe Idol knew about the exchange Kaiba did and went after him without telling him and his group.

"Is there something wrong?" Mr. Haner asked seeing his reaction. Jounouchi shook his head, "No, sir!" He took off running almost slipping off his indoor shoes and bumped into Honda who had the same look at wanting to knock some sense into Kaiba.

"Jounouchi? What's wrong?" He questioned.

"I think Idol is in trouble!"

And she was... Kaiba had drawn one of his strongest monsters, "Cyclops! Destroy Natalie's Skull Servant!"

Idol's LP: 700

Idol growled to herself as she drew another card. She can't keep playing this reckless. She had to keep trying. She saw her card and smirked, "Tiger Axe!" She placed her beast warrior card down on the plains field, "His attack is stronger than your cyclops!"

Tiger Axe ATK: 2300  
Cyclops: 2000

Kaiba cursed as he discarded his cyclops to the graveyard. His life points went down from 1000 to 700. He hadn't realize that she had gotten new cards. Then again he hadn't really looked at her strategy at all. The time they played was hold to a stop. Kaiba now saw how she dueled. She was almost as good as him... Almost. He draw and grinned, "I summon Ryu-Kishin!" Idol looked at him as if he was crazy, "Oi! He has the same attack power as Tiger Axe!"

"I know, attack!"

"They cancelled out!" Both cards were now discarded to the graveyard. Idol's hands were now fists. She had to win! It was her turn now and she draw. Her eyes lit up at her trump card, "Neon Knight!"

Kaiba's eyes widened, "N-neon Knight?!"

Impossible she has one of the rarest cards- No, not just rarest cards, she had one of the rarest knights! If she has the other one, then he's finished! He had to draw a best card to match with it or else he's done for. As he drew a card he thought to himself, _"No, I don't have to."_ He nodded at someone behind her. Idol caught this and before she turned around she was knocked out from behind. Kaiba scooped up his cards and chuckled, "Natalie, this wasn't your match to begin with." He looked down at her cards. Temptation overwhelmed him as he saw the Neon Knight rest on the play mat. He bent over to pick it up but was stopped as the door that lead to the staircase was slammed open, "Idol!"

It was Jounouchi and Honda who ran towards her. Kaiba left her cards there and looked over to them in shock. They must have followed her.

"Kaiba! What have you done!" Jounouchi growled just dying to pounce the rich boy in front of him.

Kaiba gave them an innocent look, "Nothing, of course. She fainted." He explained with a shrug.

Honda carefully lifted her up and cradled her face to see if there was any sign of damage. He then saw the slight bruising behind her head.

"Don't play stupid!" Jounouchi retort, "We know what you did!"

Honda glared up at Kaiba, "You switched cards with Yugi and Idol knew didn't she?" He picked her up bridal style, "You just had to knock her out before she exposed you, didn't you!"

Jounouchi stared at Idol's limp body in shock before he spat at Kaiba, "You bastard!"

Kaiba chuckled, "How mean! First you accuse me of stealing and then claim that I hit a girl?" Jounouchi couldn't take it anymore and went to grab Kaiba by his collar, "You prick! I couldn't stand you from the beginning!"

"You'll regret it." Kaiba smirked unfazed by the action which made Jounouchi even angrier, "You punk!" He raised his fist but before he could deliver the punch, a man grabbed his arm and his fist made contact onto Jounouchi's face knocking him back against the fenced wall.

Honda gasped out and made his way to him. He placed Idol to the floor against the fence and checked Jounouchi before glaring back to Kaiba and his two body guards who stood in front of him. He could hear Kaiba laughing in the background, "I hope you don't think badly of me, their job is to protect the next president... Which is obviously me."

Idol could hear the grunting and the sound of smacking and just overall frustration of bodies pounding to the floor. Her eyes opened and her body was alarmed and aware of the danger around her. She saw that her friends were getting beaten to a pulp and then saw Kaiba standing there with that smug look on his face. A growl rumbled through her chest and she stood up, "What. The. _Hell_! Kaiba!" She glared at him and saw Jounouchi and Honda on the ground with each of the body guard's foot on them, "You son of a-"

"Idol, you don't look so attractive if you keep using your mouth that way."

"Quit pissing me off!" Her nails were digging into the palm of her hands as her knuckles whitened, "This was between you and me! Why did you bring Yugi's friends into this?"

"What? Our duel? It was a joke, you were never going to win anyways." He chuckled and that set her off...

"Hey, douche bag! You know what I think?" She growled, "I'd say you duel like a _girl_!" She crossed her arms with a smirk, "But seeing as that would both be an insult to my gender and the fact that I am positive that my dick is bigger than your... Well let's just all assume you don't have the bait to take on a woman of my caliber!"

Kaiba gritted his teeth and he sneered at her, "You bitch!"

"Now, you might want to get some ointment for that burn, the medical facilities are down that way!" Her finger was pointing to the ground to indicate that the infirmary was located at the bottom floor...or the fact that she was pointing down to the magnificent underworld.

"Kaiba-sama, do you want us to do away with her?" one of the body guards spoke up as they awaited Kaiba's command. Kaiba thought about it for a while and he grunted, "No, we are done here."

Then the door opened to reveal little Yugi, "Jounouchi-kun! Honda-kun!"

Kaiba put on his innocent facade and looked over to Yugi, "Please listen, Yugi-kun, these three made an unbelievable false accusation!" He then pointed to Idol, "To make matters worse she claimed that she had wanted the Blue Eyes from the beginning that is why she became your friend!"

Idol's eye twitched and she muttered, "Kaiba, I'm going to kill you in your sleep."

"Did they say you switched Grandpa's card?" Yugi's voice sounded so timid as he walked over to them, "Because I noticed."

Kaiba and Idol's eyes widened at this. _"So he knew? Then why didn't you say something?"_ Idol thought as she stared at Yugi in shock.

"Though... I thought you'd reconsider and would return it!" Yugi explained, "And Idol never knew that my grandpa had that sort of a card! That's not the reason why she's my friend! Idol has been there for me ever since we first met!"

Idol looked to the side almost feeling uncomfortable... She never knew the amount of faith Yugi has on her. She had come to realize how much of a good person he is and how much she had taken him for granted. Well the fact that his grandfather owns a game shop is an added bonus and the fact that Yugi's family are nice enough to give her a place for meals and an exclusive preview of new games. Yugi and everyone else never asked her for anything. Idol won't lie to herself, she has taken advantage of Yugi's kindness for obvious reasons of being close to the millennium puzzle. But... She never planned on any ill will for the boy. Her heart felt heavy as it weighed down her own guilt. "Yugi..." She muttered to herself and she could hear Kaiba chuckle, "How touching."

"But I was wrong about you, Kaiba! Give me my grandfather's card back!" Yugi grabbed Kaiba's arm, "That card has my grandfather's heart! Please, give it back!"

"Filthy hands!" Kaiba swung his briefcase at Yugi, "Don't touch me!"

Idol glared, "Kaiba!"

"A card is a heart? That is bullshit!" Kaiba glared at both of them, "A card is a card! When the proper person has it, its true power is revealed!"

He then turned his back on them, "Your grandfather is a fool and you shouldn't hold your dear friend Idol so high, Yugi, she tends to bite the hand that feeds her." He started to walk away and Yugi stood up to go after him but he was shoved back down again. A figure had hovered over Yugi which made him flinch, thinking they were going to hurt him. He heard the hits but didn't feel pain. He opened his eyes and gasped as Idol cringed in pain, "Now we are both even." She told him and Yugi had no idea what she was talking about.

"She came out of nowhere!" One of the men had exclaimed and she could hear Kaiba grunt, "It don't matter anymore, if she gets in the way then deal with it." and with that he walked away and Idol got up despite the pain on her back, "SETO KAIBA, YOU COWARD!" She charged at him but was held back by the goons, "Out of my way, meat heads!" They grabbed her by the hair and roughly shoved her back down to where Yugi was at. She held her head and looked to see one of them charge at her. She shut her eyes closed, preparing for a hit, and muttered, "Sennen..."

-WHACK-

She saw the goon fly back to where his partner was at. "What the hell?" Idol questioned looking over to Yugi who was glaring harshly at the Kaiba's body guards, "You hurt Idol!" His voice got deeper into a low growl as the millennium puzzle glowed. Idol blinked, _"Well that's a peculiar transformation, it's almost as if they were one of the same."_

"You little runt!" The other one went at him and Idol couldn't help but shout, "Yugi, get out of the way!"

Suddenly, Dark Yugi moved to the side, making the man miss. Yugi grabbed his wrist and elbowed the guy's chest making him stumble back. Then Yugi spun to deliver a kick to the same spot with a great amount of force to have the guy fall flat on his back.

Idol had her jaw dropped open, "Y-You? What! What the fu- I don't- How?! YOU FIGHT?...WITH FISTS AND NOT GAMES?!"

All he did was smirk and charged at the two guys. Idol kept shaking her head at how he successfully dodged the hits that came at him and in the end in laments terms beat the living hell out of the two whilst breaking their sunglasses in the process. Dark Yugi had dragged one of them next to the other. Both weren't moving but you could still hear them groan...well at least they're not dead. The victor wiped the blood away from his knuckles and walked over to Idol who was still looking at him just to make sure he wasn't make-believe. It was such a delight thing to see her in this state.

"Are you okay?"

"I... I..." Idol's mind had gone blank but her mouth kept moving, "I don't know whether to be frightened or aroused."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes at her behavior, "Come on, we need to get Kaiba before he leaves." He extended his hand for her to take. She snapped out of it and accepted his hand as he pulled her up. She looked over at their friends who were still passed out, "What about Jounouchi and Honda?"

"They'll be fine, let's go." He still had her hand and so she followed him taking a look back at the body guards one last time. Un-fucking-believable.

* * *

To be continued...

**AN**

If you guys got the title reference, then you are awesome! If you didn't, it's okay. You're not that nerdy lol


	7. Chapter 7

Last time on YugiMon!...

jk

**Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi**

Chapter 7: A Call For Confliction

* * *

Idol has never been on school property for so damn long. The boys had set up a table for duel monsters and prepared for a duel. What did she do? She sat on the sidelines, with the back of the chair facing front and her legs were on either side. She told Kaiba if he did anything stupid then she beat the back of his head like he did to her.

"Yugi, you know you're challenging a duel monsters expert." Kaiba said as he calmly sat on his end with his arms crossed, "Think you can win?"

Dark Yugi sat opposite of him with his arms crossed as well, "I don't know, however, this duel monsters game will be different than before."

"I'll look forward to it, Yugi."

"I hope you know the rules, Kaiba, and not cheat this time." Idol sneered which earned her a glare from him, "Both of you will start with forty cards and your life points are two thousand. First to hit zero life points will be declared the loser." She finished with the rules and awaited for the game to begin.

"Game... _start!_"

Kaiba drew, "I'll start first!" He placed a card on the dark forest part of the field, "Level five gargoyle!" Smoke seemed to appear from the play mat and suddenly you could see the actual forest surround Kaiba's side of the field and there emerged and gigantic fiend with wings pounding away on his chest. Idol gasped she was just as shocked as Kaiba. The winged gargoyle let out a mighty roar making everyone aware of its presence.

"It can't be!"

"Incredible!"

"Didn't I tell you?" They heard Yugi spoke up, "This game will be different from all the others." He drew his card from his deck, "I'll block your gargoyle with Dark Dragon!"

Idol heard the sound of a droplet and saw something emerge from a dark lake, "A.. A dragon?" There was a growl as its jaws were open as it faced the gargoyle.

"Battle!"

"Go! Gargoyle!"

The dragon's chest rose and it spat out flames, covering the gargoyle. Idol could feel the warmness of the fire. The gargoyle however got the bad end of it, it howled in pain as it vanished. Kaiba's life points went down to fifteen hundred.

"My card?" Kaiba's eyes widened. Not only did the monster vanish but his card did as well! Dark Yugi chuckled, "That's right, Kaiba, the losing card is completely destroyed!"

"Whoa... That's something you don't see every day." Idol muttered as Yugi looked over to her with a smirk, "That's right, this is a duel monsters shadow game style duel, my dear!"

She was unaware of Kaiba's chuckling till they grew into laughter, "Interesting... Very interesting, Yugi Mutou!"

"What could possibly be amusing, Kaiba?" She questioned him.

He looked over to her with a crazed look, "This is the ultimate game I've been searching for, Idol!" He drew a card and he chuckled, "Yes! I drew the rare beast-soldier, Minotaurus!" He placed it down and shouted, "Materialize!"

And so it did. A large beast with a bull's head covered in battle armor was summoned. It carried what appears to be a mix of a sword and an ax. Yugi's dragon covered the armored beast with its flames but the beast didn't even flinch, "My minotaurus is superior to your dark dragon in both attack and defense!" Kaiba cackled, "No matter how much it struggles, it's no use, Yugi!" Then he commanded, "Go, Minotaurus! Tear that dragon limb from limb!"

Yugi's life points were now down to match Kaiba's. Idol looked over to Kaiba with narrowed eyes as he spoke again, "Go ahead, draw your next card! I doubt you'd find one that is better than mine!"

Yugi place his hand over his deck and drew his next card. He looked over to it, "Holy Elf..." He muttered under his breath. It was a card with a low attack and couldn't take on Kaiba's card. Though, it can hold Kaiba off for a while with it's high defense points. Yugi placed his card in defense mode, in which the card is placed horizontally. Idol's nails dug into the chair as she watched. She saw her friend's worried-written face. Can it be that he reached his limit?

Kaiba chuckled as he, too, played his minotaurus in defense mode. He thought to himself, _"I can't play recklessly with my life points on the line. I'm just going to have to draw something that can attack the holy elf."_ He looked at his next card and smirked, _"Already done!"_ He placed a card face down on the field behind the minotaurus card. Idol and Yugi noticed it. Dark Yugi had figured it out. The card Kaiba placed on the field is a power up for his minotaurus. Yugi drew his next card, hoping it'll be something to beat Kaiba's beast. He cursed under his breath, a zombie card that was too weak to beat Kaiba's current card.

"My turn!" Kaiba revealed his magic card, "I play the magic card growth!"

The minotaurus stood up and roared. It grew three times it size! Idol could see the Holy Elf looked over at her opponent in fear. The attack strength increased by twenty percent. Kaiba's beast is too strong now.

"Attack the holy elf!"

With a swish of its ax, it beheaded the Holy Elf and her card disappeared. Kaiba laughed out loud, "No card you pick can beat my minotaurus!" The minotaurus slashed again at Yugi's other defense position monster, which was the zombie card, "Give it up, Yugi! It's over!"

Yugi scoffed as he draw, "I won't give up."

"Fine by me!"

Yugi looked over at his card and smirked, "I, too, have a powerful card in my hand." Idol's eyes lit up as she knew what he was talking about. For the first time, she was happy to see the damn card.

"Demon Summon!" He called out as he placed the card in the dark forest side of the play mat. Kaiba gasped, "One of the five rarest cards?" How can these two punks hold possession of such cards?

"Of course, Minotaurus is no match for demon lightning!"

Idol stared in amazement as the fiend skull displayed fireworks across the board. The beast suffered as lightning coursed through its body. Kaiba's card then vanished and his life points went down to eight hundred.

"Now then, Kaiba, what will you do?"

Kaiba growled, _"This is bad... I might have a card that can beat Yugi's demon but my chances of summoning it are too low."_ He reached over to his pocket to grab the card he stole from Yugi, _"I'm just gonna have to draw it out my way and then I'll win!"_

Idol saw what he did and gritted her teeth but before she could say anything she felt a pain towards her shin. She stared at him in shock. HE FUCKING KICKED HER!

"Idol, did you forget your name?"

She growled at him, _"What.. An. Asshole."_

"Now, Yugi, my next card is..." Kaiba's eyes lit up, "Excellent! Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

It emerged from the lake water, expanded its wings, and let out an intimidating roar at everybody in the room. Idol could see its eyes shone blue as it looked over to Yugi, at her, and the person who summoned it. There was a growl and Idol saw it as confusion, "The... The dragon its...?"

"Go! Attack Blue Eyes and destroy Yugi!" Kaiba commanded and the dragon bowed its head at Yugi and made this despair sound of a growl.

Idol shook her head, "This is unreal."

"What! Why isn't attacking?!" Kaiba growled, "Finish him!"

The blue eyes white dragon glared at the one who was commanding it. Idol then noticed the millennium puzzle glowing, "Kaiba, it seems that you don't understand this game at all. It didn't attack me because the blue eyes white dragon doesn't have your heart in it!"

Idol was just as confused as Kaiba, "You're saying the blue eyes knows loyalty to its rightful owner?" She questioned and Kaiba just sat there in shock. She took the words out of his mouth. The spirit of the millennium puzzle smiled gently at her and gestured her to come closer. Idol walked over to his side of the table and he pointed to the blue eyes, "Look closely, Idol, pay attention to its eyes."

Idol did so and all she saw were its shiny blue eyes, then it shone purple...wait... Idol gasped as she saw Yugi's grandfather within the blue eyes.

"No way..." She muttered, "This is what Yugi was talking about last night?" She didn't mean to say it out loud but Kaiba didn't really notice as he was still in shock about the whole heart of the cards deal. The blue eyes then eliminated itself from the field, leaving Kaiba without any monsters to defend himself from Yugi.

"No! Impossible! A card can't have loyalty!" Kaiba growled out, "It's just a card!"

Yugi disregarded that comment and proceeded with his turn, "I already have a magic card face down here..." He flipped it over to reveal it, "And now I will play it!"

"What!" Idol and Kaiba shouted.

When did he play that card?!

"Monster Reborn!" Yugi declared, "I can revive one monster from either my graveyard or my enemy's and the card I choose is... Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"N-no! Not my trump card!"

Idol stepped back as she saw the Blue Eyes shined even brighter now that the dragon was with its rightful owner. Now it let out its magnificent roar, a roar that signified power and hope.

"Now Blue Eyes!" The spirit called out as he stood up, "White lightning attack!"

Kaiba's life points were now down to zero, "This can't be... I've been beaten!"

Idol looked over to the spirit of the millennium puzzle and she laughed excitedly, "That was amazing!" She threw her arms around his waist and embraced him, "You beat Kaiba!"

Yugi's darker self was caught off guard that he didn't realize his face was heating up. He looked down at the girl embracing him and smiled while hugging her back, "Thank you, Idol." He couldn't explain it but it felt nice having her close to him like this. He looked over to the shaken Kaiba and the eye of Ra appeared on his forehead, "Now, Kaiba, the penalty game!"

Kaiba felt himself get sucked into another world but as he looks back his body stayed there frozen and in shock. "What's happening to me?" He looked around and there were borders. Idol had pulled away from the dark spirit and gasped. Kaiba was now a monster card. The card had fallen onto the table. Kaiba looked around in this new strange environment. Fear crept up his spine as he heard various growls growing closer. That's when he realized, "Am... Am I in the world of duel monsters?" He was now faced with beasts of all kinds from all terrains. Snarling and baring their fangs at Kaiba who howled in horror. Idol shut her ears at the sound and her dark companion seemed unfazed by it.

"Kaiba, in that world, you will experience something similar to death," Dark Yugi explains as he grabbed his grandfather's blue eyes, "by getting to know these cards only then you will understand the heart of the game."

"Don't you think that's a bit extreme?" Idol's voice was quiet and there was concern for the boy written all over her face. The dark spirit narrowed his eyes at that, "It's only one night's worth of nightmares. Nothing will happen to him, it's all an illusion." He explained to her but that didn't make her feel any better.

"But, Sennen, that can cause him extreme trauma!" Idol shouted, "Stop the penalty!"

"Why are you so against this?" He questioned her as his voice raised, "From what I can recall, all the time I've known you, you deliberately banish any threat on sight!"

She scoffed at him, "All those times were different!"

"And Seto Kaiba is any different? You saw what he did to Yugi and his friends! Ever since he got here he's been causing you turmoil!"

Idol's eyes sent a glare as she crossed her arms and faced the other direction not having a reply for that. She didn't know why she was defending Seto Kaiba to begin with. Yes, he is an asshole but there was some information that he holds from her. For instance, her old best friend's whereabouts and what he knew about the hunters. She can't do that now that he is gonna be in a neurotic state. She can hear the spirit of the millennium puzzle sigh and felt his hand touch her shoulder, "Don't think I didn't notice, Idol." His voice was brought down to a more gentle tone, "I can see and hear everything through Yugi and I couldn't stand seeing him harass you or my host."

She began to walk away from him moving her shoulder away from him, "Let's just take Yugi home."

He gave off a disappointed look when she rejected his touch. He looked back at Kaiba's numbed state and glared. First, she had welcomed him with open arms and now she became distant. Why? What made her react this way? Was there a history between her and... "Kaiba." He spat his name out as if it tasted disgusting in his mouth.

"Hello~! Spirit of the sennen puzzle!"

He could hear Idol outside of the classroom.

"Let's go before the meat heads wake up!"

He shook his head at those thoughts that keep coming back to him. Why did he suddenly feel this way? What is is about that girl next to him?

"Hey." She suddenly spoke up, "I'm sorry for getting after you." He blinked at her sudden aloofness. She just keeps changing mood after mood it was driving him insane. Now he knew how his vessel feels. He let out another sigh, "I apologize as well."

She looked over to him with her hands behind her back, "Well that's something I don't hear quite often."

"Can we just keep walking?" He replied with a smirk and that went away when she wrapped one arm around his waist, "After you, then."

He accepted her embrace and they walked side by side.

_"You are a strange girl, Idol."_

The next morning...

"Yugi!"

He stopped what he was doing and listened closely to confirm if there was anyone calling him.

"Yugi! Quick!"

It was Idol. She sounds as if she desperately needs help. Then he started to freak out and jumped out of his bed, not caring that he threw his homework and textbook to the side.

"Yugi, hurry! Help!"

"Idol, I'm coming!" He called out worriedly as he skipped the last four steps of the stairs almost falling over and knocking over a set of picture frames. Her voice is coming from the outside. Is she in trouble? Is someone hurting her? He could feel his amount of stress rising. His millennium puzzle glowed slightly.

"YUGI!"

He barged out of the game shop to see her sitting on the side walk. Her back to him. Already dressed in her uniform for today with her wavy light brunette hair swept to one side as usual. He made his way around and knelt down in front of her.

"Idol? What happened?! Are you hurt?" He grabbed her shoulders and inspected her face for any kind of distress. Her face was contorted as if she was in pain and he felt a little aggressive at the thought of someone hurting her.

She looked up at him with a relieved look, "Oh good, you're here!" Suddenly a device was shoved into his face, "I've been stuck on level 50 for like the longest time!" (about 30 minutes..)

Yugi stared at her in disbelief.

"I've tried practically everything! I just can't!" Her bottom lip trembled, "Please, pass it for me?"

Yugi shut his eyes and leaned away from her for a moment and sucked in a breath, "IDOL, YOU SCARED THE EVER LIVING WITS OUT OF ME!"

"Well, I didn't know you were home and this is kind of a crisis for me so what better way to just shout your name instead of climbing up your window like a creepy boyfriend." Idol explained with a shrug as if there wasn't a problem at all.

Yugi blushed at the thought of them having that kind of relationship and he shook his head, "Why couldn't you just enter the shop?"

"It closed due to inventory?" Idol looked back at the sign on the door, "Plus, aren't you supposed to be doing the morning chores? Like sweeping the entrance?"

He sighed and stood up with the small gaming device at hand, "I'm doing last minute homework, come on."

Idol got up and followed him back inside the shop. Her eyes went from his face to the clothes...well pajamas he was wearing, "Hey Yugi, I just noticed the stars."

"Shut up, Idol."

Idol had made her way to the couch and Yugi came back down to join her dressed in his school uniform with the millennium puzzle lazily hung around his neck. She smiled at it, _"Good morning to you, too."_ She had sent it a telepathic message, hoping it worked this time. The puzzle glimmered slightly for her and she shrugged. Good enough for now. After the events of last night, as they walked back to the game shop they had tried to work on their communication. Though, it's not the same when Yugi is around and is still unaware of what's going on around him. Idol was a little concerned if these blackouts were doing his brain any damage. It's bad enough that he gets hit in the head quite often.

"Do I have something on my face?" Yugi asked noticing that she had been staring at him for a while. Idol's lips turned to a smirk and she waved him off, "No, I was just admiring how you look in the morning."

"W-what?" He stared at her in shock almost dropping the butter knife and his toast.

"Come on, Yugi!" Idol whined as she stood up and got his bag, "We're gonna be late for the bus."

"Idol!" He muffled out loud since his mouth was full of his toast. He chased after her out through the shop entrance. He shouted a good bye to his grandfather before leaving who scolded him for eating and running.

"And you skipped chores again!"

"I'm sorry, gramps!"

Yugi was too busy looking back at his grandfather his face ended up ramming into Idol's mid-back. He grunted and grabbed a hold of her waist before he fell back on his bottom. He could hear her snickering as she helped balance him out, "Careful now, kid."

"It'd be nice if you didn't call me that." He pouted as they continued to walk. Idol enjoyed these kind of mornings. It was quiet and it was just them two. Sure, she enjoys having the entire gang with them after school but mornings seem less-

"BEAT IT, KID!"

"Chaotic..." Idol grumbled out loud, "I spoke too, soon." Yugi noticed here stopping and her eyes glared across the street near the alley. She had just witnessed someone getting mugged and Yugi had to grab her wrist to get her attention, "Come on, Idol." He urged so that the group won't give them any attention. For her safety, he had to get her to the bus stop which wasn't too far now. Idol didn't budge and someone had met her golden eyes. The individual smirked and got the rest of the crew's attention. Yugi noticed this and got a bit nervous.

"You like what you see, sweet heart?" One of them commented.

Idol had distinguished his accent at his attempt at speaking to her in English. She glanced at his clothes, which matched with the rest of them. She had identified them as kids from the eastern district of Domino City. You heard right, folks. This is what Idol does in her spare time (every night). Acting like some american hero at night, going around and memorizing the city. She looked over to the guy who was wearing a beanie walking closer to them. Her body went to cover Yugi and glowered at the guy who was now checking her out, "Domino High, huh?" He questioned as his eyes gazed over at her hungrily, "Why don't you ditch the bus and ride on this?" The rest of the guys who had caught up chuckled. Yugi had tensed up at his statement and felt himself getting angry.

Idol on the other hand was amused, "No thanks, I don't know where you've been."

"I've been everywhere, baby, I show you." He sent a wink and she crossed her arms, "By the way you look, I don't think you ever gone anywhere else aside from your mom's basement."

Then there was silence and everyone just looked at her in confusion. Realization hit her hard and she cursed, "Dammit, Japanese culture! Not the same as American."

She felt Yugi's hand around her arm, "Idol, the bus is almost here."

The beanie guy noticed him, "Hey, is he bothering you, babe?"

"No, now can you piss off?"

This got him angry, "What did you say, tramp?"

As she was about to say something, Yugi went in front of her just to gently shove her to other direction, "Excuse us, but we have to go."

"No one asked you brat!" The guy growled, "Now scram and leave the girl with us!" The bigger guy of the group stepped forward, "Let them go, we got other things to settle."

The threat was gone and Idol can feel herself relax again and the bus had taken them away from there. They arrived exactly at 8:20. Yugi had walked into his classroom and Idol followed just to greet everyone there before the bell rings. Anzu is always there early with Honda and then Miho arrives. Though, something was different around this time. It was too quiet.

"Unbelievable!" She heard Honda shout, "Jounouchi is absent!"

Ah... That's what's missing.

"This is a big incident!"

Idol tilted her head in confusion, "Why?"

"He's got super-human health!" Honda answered her and then grumbled, "But he's not so good in tests." Miho had a concerned look on her face as well, "He's never been absent."

"Is that bad?" Idol looked at how they were acting. It was strange. Anzu looked over to her and smiled, "Idol, you're like an alien."

"I always appreciate your compliments, Anzu." Idol said with narrowed eyes, "But I am serious, is the school system here more strict on attendance or what?"

"Not so extreme, Idol, but if you do miss a class you'll miss out on a lot and will fall behind." Anzu explained to her, "I assume you hear crazy stories from other students?"

"I think it's the fact that there are some crazy teachers here." Idol cracked a smile towards her then looked over to Honda, "Well, if this is a concern, do you have any means of contact?"

He shook his head, "No, Jounouchi keeps to himself too much." He placed his hand over his chin in deep thought, "Though, maybe after school I can go to his place."

"I would like to join you, Honda-kun!" Yugi spoke up, and then Anzu, "Same here, I don't work today." And then Miho nodded as well. They looked over to Idol to hear her answer. Idol averted her eyes away from the rest, feeling a little self-conscious, "Uh, yeah I guess I'll join in as well."

And so she did...

She aimlessly followed her friends and observed where they were going. Curious as to know where her friend lived. She frowned as they were itching closer to the eastern district.

"Honda-Kun." Yugi had spoke up deterring Idol away from her thoughts, "You've known Jounouchi-kun since middle school, right?"

"Yeah... But he almost never invited me to his place." Honda answered him and Idol only stared at him in curiosity. _"I wonder why..."_ She thought as they stopped in front of an apartment complex, "Is this it?" She wondered out loud.

Honda nodded, "I was here only once a long time ago." He then proceeded up the stairs, "From what I can recall, it should be on the first door on the third floor." As they made their way, Idol could see the number of the apartment on the side of the door with Jounouchi's name on it. She blinked at it, "Wait... So Jounouchi is a surname?"

She didn't get her answer since Honda began pounding at the door, "Excuse me!"

There was no answer.

_~knock, knock_

Nada.

"Seems like no ones home." Anzu shrugged as Miho went ahead and opened the door like if she owned the place, "But the door is unlocked." She said with a smile as Idol and Honda stared at her strangely. "Miho-chan! You can't enter someone's place without permission!"

"It's okay." She giggled and motioned to the door, "A peek won't hurt." Her head poked in, along with Idol's underneath her. Then her face got full of red and black as Yugi's head went under hers. She tried to shake her face away from the madness called hair as Anzu and Honda peeked in as well. As Idol finally got rid of Yugi's hair from her face her eyes widen at the flying brown bottle coming at her. On instinct, she grabbed Yugi's shoulders and pulled him back. There was a crash, a smell of spiced whiskey reached Idol's nose, and then Miho and Anzu shrieked along with a man shouting, "Y-YOU SHITTY BRAT! _-hic-_ HAVEN'T BEEN HOME IN TWO DAYS!" He hiccuped again. Honda apologized as he slammed the door shut and everyone made a run for it.

They stopped running when they reached the outside and panted. Except for Idol who started laughing. Honda stared at her strangely and she apologized, "Sorry, anxiety does that to me."

"Um, Honda.." Anzu spoke as a look of concern spread across her face, "Was that..?"

He didn't need for her to finish to know who she was talking about, "Yeah, that's his old man. He's been that way from what I've heard." He looked at all of us with a serious expression, "That's why he doesn't invite anyone over."

"Well that makes sense but his father said that he hasn't been home for two days." Idol picked up, "Do you know where else he could have gone?"

Honda frowned, "I'm not sure where he could be, Idol."

"Then, let's keep looking." Yugi said with a look of determination on his face. Idol smiled at that and placed a hand on his shoulder, "After you, sir." She said which made Yugi blush a little and started walking. There was a suspicious look glazed over Anzu's eyes as she saw how the two interacted but chose not to dwell on it. They walked to the arcade, Anzu's old job, Anzu's current job, a playground, one of the shopping centers which distracted Miho from looking, and a pizza place which made Idol hungry. Soon, the sun was close to setting and they had not found Jounouchi anywhere. They stopped walking and the sun was casting them a shadow which made Idol squint a bit.

"No, good." Honda spoke as his eyebrows furrowed, "He's not in any of the usual places and that's all I could think of."

_Idol..._

She turned around at the sound of someone calling her name but there wasn't anyone looking at her. She looked at her friends and they were still talking about the Jounouchi predicament. So who could..?

_"Idol."_

She froze and her eyes shifted downward to Yugi's puzzle. She blinked at it waiting for another call.

_"Down here."_

She tensed up at his voice and looked over to Yugi's shadow and two crimson eyes stared up at her, "Oh! Ra-..." She shrieked which made everyone looked at her in concern, "Rock!" She answered grabbing her foot, "I have a rock in my shoe." She knelt down trying not to draw attention to herself and made it seem like she was inspecting her shoe.

"Are you insane?" She hissed quietly, "Yugi's going to notice!"

_"No one will see or hear me but you."_ He spoke, _"I sense danger coming your way concerning Jounouchi and that gang you decided to toy with earlier."_

"You need to learn how to mind your own business, Sennen."

_"And you need to stop being reckless, my Sennen companion."_

"Very cute."

"Idol?" Yugi knelt down aside her, "Who are you talking to?"

She looked at him and noticed he was the only one who noticed. She flashed him a smile and place her hands on his shoulders, "My imaginary friend."

He tilted his head in confusion which made him look adorable, "Idol, you're being silly."

"Nah," She pinched his cheek, "He almost looks adorable like you."

Yugi's face had reddened, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Idol had an amused grin on her face when she heard both of them said the same thing at the same time. Yugi decided to dismiss it and helped her up, "Honda said that he was going to continue searching for Jounouchi-kun."

"What about us?"

Before he could reply, there was shouting coming from one of the alley ways and it was also accompanied by a whimper. Yugi was the first to investigate followed by a disgruntled Idol. _"And he calls me reckless."_ Soon everyone else had followed and Idol had gasped. It was the same individuals that approached her and Yugi earlier. Her finger rested on her pursed lips as she thought to herself, _"Is this what the spirit was telling me about?"_

Honda had scoffed, "Their uniforms are from Rintama High." Idol's ears had perked from that information, "They're all the same, lets get out of here."

Yugi had gasped, "B-but... That's Jounouchi!"

_"Ah, so this is the danger."_ Idol had quietly observed the situation as Honda and Miho questioned why their friend is with the Rintama boys. They had just mugged the guy who had just accidentally bumped into them. Idol replayed the same thing from this morning, though, Jounouchi wasn't with them. She wondered, if they had picked him up after their encounter. One of them had just mentioned going celebrating this so called "J's" bar. Idol smirked at their stupidity,_"Thanks for the info."_

And then, Yugi had ran towards them...

"You stupid boy!" Idol had shouted at him in annoyance and Anzu nudged her, "Don't call him stupid."

Yugi had called his best friend out and Jounouchi made a little glance. This made the large group stop at look over to the small boy shouting at them, "Why weren't you at school today?" Yugi had questioned, "Why are you with those people?"

The boy in a beanie looked over and smirked, "Oh hey, it's the wimp and the whore from earlier."

Idol's eye twitched, "What did you just call me?" She almost looked like a snarling dog and Anzu had to hold her back before she did something stupid.

He ignored her and leaned over to Jounouchi, "You know them?"

"Nope." Jounouchi replied cooly, "Never seen them before. Let's go." Then he proceeded to walk with the rest of the group but was stopped by the big one. Idol labelled him the alpha. His hair was slicked back into a short ponytail and he had a cigarette in his mouth, "Jounouchi, you've gotten soft." He chuckled, "You shouldn't let some brat from Domino High follow you around."

"No, Jounouchi-kun!"

Idol had looked over at Yugi in shock, no longer pissed off at the name calling. She was surprised at how bold he is being, "Walk home with us, Jounouchi!" Yugi hoped he could get through his best friend.

"Hirutani-san, that brat is annoying!" The beanie little man said to his superior, "Jounouchi-kun doesn't know him so..." He charged at Yugi and his fist made contact to Yugi's cheek, knocking him back. Idol's pupil had dilated but she felt someone holding her back and it was a scared Miho. Anzu and Honda went to check up on Yugi while the beanie guy laughed. Jounouchi on the other hand didn't make a move, hell not even gave a second look back at his friends.

"Don't stress out our friend Jounouchi." the beanie guy said, "Make any more noise, and I'll kill you."

Idol growled, "Try me!"

"Is that a threat, sweet heart?"

"It's a promise, Rintama boy, you'll be first on my list!"

Anzu stood up and glowered over at her old friend, "Jounouchi! You're awful! I was all wrong about you!"

"What's wrong with you, Jounouchi?!" Honda shouted after though Jounouchi made no movement whatsoever, not even a peek, not even a sound. The Rintama boys had nudged Jounouchi to carry on and leave the Domino kids behind. And so they did laughing along the way.

Idol found herself leaning against the tree that was behind the bench in which her friends were occupying at the park. Anzu had given Yugi a wet cloth for the bruise on his face. Much to Yugi's dismay he endured the cold contact against his skin. Idol had began to hear Honda's story about the alpha guy called Hirutani. How back in middle school Jounouchi hung out with that type of crowd and how they picked on the weaklings only.

"Why he is hanging out with them now is beyond me." Honda finished, "Maybe Jounouchi had always admired him. I never did." His jaw locked at the thought of his friend leaving them behind to join with his old crew, "He chose them, not us... I don't think he's ever coming back."

Idol didn't care whether or not Jounouchi had changed. Her first priority was payback and then she can deal with Jounouchi later. She walked over to them, "Well there's one way to find out." Honda had looked up at her in surprise, "I'm going to investigate."

"You're kidding?"

She wasn't.

Yugi then stood up and walked over to her, "I am going as well." He gave her a look of determination, "I know that Jounouchi hasn't changed." Idol just blinked at him contemplating whether to tell him to stay with the rest or something. She noticed he wasn't holding the handkerchief that Anzu gave him. She could see the red mark almost turning purple. She grumbled to herself, maybe she could... No, it'd be too noticeable if she healed him. Then they'll question as to why she'd be touching his cheek when Anzu had already looked at it.

"Alright then, I'll go with you, too." Honda stood up from the bench and looked over to Miho and Anzu, "We'll see you guys tomorrow with Jounouchi-kun."

Anzu looked over worriedly at Yugi and Idol and then leaned over to Honda, "Keep both of them away from danger."

Honda had winked at her, "No harm will come to them."

Idol didn't notice the quick talk they had as she was still looking at Yugi's cheek, "Does it still hurt?" She had asked him and Yugi gently poked his bruise and then hissed at the pain, "I'm okay." Idol shook her head at the statement and then closed her eyes. Yugi wondered what she was doing. It was like she was concentrating on something. Before he went to ask what she was thinking about she had opened her eyes. They appeared to be more golden than ever and Yugi got a little nervous when she looked over at him. She leaned closer to him and Yugi began to blush, "I-Idol? W-wha-.." Suddenly, he felt her lips pressed gently against his bruised cheek. It seemed as if everything stopped around him. He had lost the ability of cognitive functioning and just simply stood there. The only female that had kissed him on the cheek was his own mother. Idol's lips felt really warm, almost hot, and just like that it was gone. He had to fight to gain control over his body before he toppled over.

"Hey, Honda."

Yugi heard Idol call out and he was surprised that she wasn't near him anymore. How did she get away from him so quickly?

"Where is this _J's_ bar?" She asked him as Honda joined up with her, "Is that what they said?" Honda had asked as he recognized the name. Idol nodded and Honda began the lead. She looked back at Yugi who was still in a daze, "Come on, Yugi, let's go get Jounouchi."

Yugi only nodded, following after them. He placed his hand on his cheek and then gasped. The bruise was gone.

Deep into the alley there resided an underground American style bar with the entrance heavily covered in graffiti. Inside Hirutani had claimed one of the bar stools, his right hand man wearing the beanie stood next to him offering another cigarette. The other Rintama boys gathered around their leader celebrating the fact that Jounouchi had joined them. Jounouchi on the other hand, who sat alone on the couch, didn't stop glaring at beanie boy. A chill ran up to the Rintama boy as he felt Jounouchi's stares. Chuckling he questioned him. When Jounouchi gave no answer the smirk fell off his face and he was now trapped in a stare down. Silently judging Jounouchi's character and his relationship with the leader, he took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Jounouchi, you've been acting weird lately."

Jounouchi still said nothing and continued to glare. The previous event replayed in his head over and over again. He could hear painful cry that Yugi made when he got hit. Idol's threat at the attacker. Then Anzu and Honda shouting at him. He couldn't hold back his anger anymore. He abruptly stood up surprising the other boy. "In the end... I can't forgive you." Was all Jounouchi said. The beanie boy gave him a questionable look but before he even said anything...

Jounouchi had knocked him over the other side of the bar making the beanie boy knocked down a few empty glasses behind the counter.

"For hitting my friend, I can never forgive you!" Jounouchi growled.

Hirutani wasn't fazed at what happened. As a matter of fact, there was a sadistic glint in his eye as he chuckled, "Jounouchi, you finally look like your old self... I'm glad." He took the cigarette out of his mouth, "But I'm sorry that you chose to antagonize us." He stomped out the fire of his cigarette and ordered, "Get him, boys! We'll teach him a lesson, even if we have to kill him!" On command, Jounouchi was now surrounded. He smirked knowing that the odds were against him. One of them had flung his fist at him, which he successfully dodged. Jounouchi retaliated by kneeing the one who attacked first's chin and punched him out of the way. Though, he was unaware of the big guy who knocked him down from behind. Jounouchi, could feel the sting travel throughout his body and the force of the hit made him tumble down to his knees. Hirutani continued to sit on his bar stool with a smirk as he watched his boys take advantage of the fallen Jounouchi.

Now that Hirutani was satisfied watching a badly injured Jounouchi getting pinned down by everyone, he ordered them to stop. "Get him up and take him to the execution grounds."

Over to Idol, who's hair was now damp from the rain continued to run along side Honda and Yugi. They finally reached the outside to of the underground bar. Idol could read the sign outside labelled "J's". Before Idol could run any further she was stopped by Honda.

"What now?"

"It's too dangerous for you two to go down." He stated, "I need you two to wait for me here."

Idol shook her head, "No, I'm going with you!"

"Idol, I don't want to have to worry about both you and Yugi while I'm fighting!" Idol couldn't say much to that sentence. She knew he means well but she couldn't just sit in one spot at the same time. Honda looked over to Yugi, "This is going to get rough, I need you here with Idol."

Yugi at first didn't want Honda to go alone but the mention of Idol gave him a purpose to wait. Idol on the other hand narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. Honda had ran down the stairs and Idol concentrated on his presence. Yugi was beginning to feel anxious. He turned to Idol to see how she was doing but he caught her in that meditative state again. He placed a hand over his cheek wondering if it was coincidental that she had kissed him and the bruise had gone away. He wanted to ask her but it would sound ridiculous. He saw Idol's face expression turned sour. She opened her eyes and muttered, "No one's down there but..." Then she glared and it made Yugi back up a bit. Frowning he thought of how would she know?

Honda then came back up panting, "They're not here!"

Yugi's eyes widened as he looked to Idol, still glaring at the bar, and Honda, "But how?"

"I don't know but it looked like there was a fight." Honda grumbled, "This is bad."

Idol turned their attention to them, "Then let's split up and search for them." Honda took a while to answer but he nodded nonetheless, "Okay but if you find him, you come get me first, got it?"

Idol's eyes soften a bit, "I will Honda."

Honda approved of that and took off to the right and Yugi stared at Idol for a bit with a worried expression. She looked over to Yugi and smiled getting closer to him, "Yugi, promise me something."

"What is it?" Again there was that fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach. She reached over and grabbed his millennium puzzle, "If you are in any trouble..." He noticed her hands were shaking, "This is going to sound ridiculous but I need you to hold onto this and wish for the puzzle."

"Idol?" Yugi frowned, "I don't understand."

"Just trust me?" She pleaded, "Remember the time you told me about how the millennium puzzle can grant you wishes? I need you to do that for me, okay?"

Yugi then smiled understanding that she was very worried for him, "I'll be fine, Idol." He gently made her let go of him and couldn't stop smiling at the fact that she really cared about him, "I'm going to go this way." With that he left her.

Idol had watched him go and disappear and sighed to herself, "Oh no..." She tangled her hands into her hair, "Why did I let him go alone?" Then she had remembered the reason why she was glaring earlier. She charged down the stairs to the not so empty bar. Beanie boy had steadied himself onto the couch and held his face while groaning in pain. He heard the foot steps and glanced up to a wet Idol. Chuckling he said, "Have you come to comfort me, sweet heart?"

There she slammed something onto the table in front of him. He looked over to see... "Some weird Egyptian scale? Is this a joke?"

"Let me tell you a little bit about a demon called Ammit."

* * *

There was grunting.

There was rain.

There was blood.

There was Jounouchi tied up in an abandoned warehouse getting beat to death yet again. How strange to see somebody else in that situation that isn't Yugi.

Jounouchi spat his own blood at them while the leader, Hirutani, grinned in satisfaction, "You look good, Jounouchi."

"Well, everything around here looks good." Jounouchi replied with a chuckle, "Compared to these baboons you call underlings."

That comment wasn't so funny to the rest who continued to throw punches and kicks at him. "Jounouchi, you haven't changed since middle school." Hirutani commented, "I always hated it that we think the same way." He began to reminisce the past to where he and Jounouchi were partners with nothing to fear, "But there was one thing that I could never do... You were my underling and yet I forgot to educate you!"

Jounouchi began to laugh, "I knew it! You brought me here to teach me." He won't admit it but it was beginning to hurt him when he talked. He kept going and smirked, "What's wrong? Is it over?" He taunted, "I don't remember a thing!"

"Don't worry, we've got a special menu." Hirutani smirked as well, "A full course of beating some sense into you."

Jounouchi's eyes widened as Hirutani's underlings brought out stun guns. Stun guns. All three of them had one switched on and waving it in front of him. Each were two hundred thousand volts. One of them got closer to Jounouch grinning evilly, "Here, have a taste!" Jounouchi reacted fast as he gripped onto the rope and shoved his foot straight the boy's face, "You piece of crap!" He was pretty sure that he knocked out some teeth. The guy had fallen back knocked out while the other two left went ahead and shoved their stun guns against Jounouchi.

"GYAAAHH!"

_"Ku ku ku..."_

Idol had been walking faster than usual to get away from the creature that kept following her. More importantly she figured out that Jounouchi was in trouble and judging by the screams of pain she heard, she had to get to him fast.

_"Sachmis, you can't ignore me forever."_

Idol abruptly turned to confront a set of crocodile jaws, "Okay, first rule of hanging out with me: Don't call me that. Second rule: Don't fucking call me that."

The chimeric beast laughed at her, _"You can't hide forever."_

"Alright!" Idol growled, "You had your meal now leave me be! You're distracting me."

_"No, the next course is in that abandoned warehouse."_

Idol turned around to see it slightly opened and glared at the beast, "Ammit, go away." She sped off to the warehouse and what she saw made her sick to her stomach.

Jounouchi had a lifeless look on his face and his body twitched as it swung from the rope. Idol's wrists clenched and she snarled, "You animals! What have you done to him?!"

"Hey, it's that girl from that one group, Hirutani-san!"

"Should we play with her tonight?"

"But I don't like sloppy seconds!"

Idol glared with gritted teeth and grabbed the nearest thing for a weapon, which was a broken pipe, "I am not anyone's toy tonight. I already dealt with one of your home boys now who's next?"

Hirutani cackled out loud, "You're not serious, girl? You actually think you can take us?"

Before she could reply to that, someone else did, "Not her but me." Yugi's dark alter ego made his presence known and Idol rolled her eyes, "Took you long enough."

"Not in the mood."

"You're never in the mood!"

He didn't reply but kept walking towards them. Idol just shook her head and grumbled, "Those two are going to be the death of me!" Her ears twitched at what the Rintama boys were talking about this time. She gripped the pipe in case someone tries to be funny.

"So, it's them dynamic duo again!" They all chuckled, "They actually believe they can save Jounouchi!"

One of them stepped forward, "Hey boy! This place..." He charged at Yugi, punching him in the same spot from earlier, "Ain't for kids!"

Idol growled witnessing the same damn thing that just happened and she ran at him raising the pipe, "I JUST FIXED THAT, ASSHOLE!" She whacked him across the face, she was pretty sure that she dislocated his jaw. Hirutani acted fast and grabbed the pipe before she swung again and pulled her by the hair, "Now you're gonna get it."

Dark Yugi had picked himself up, regaining his vision as he saw another boy with a stun gun knocked out in front of him. An idea sparked in his head as he removed the millennium puzzle and formed his plan of action. He stood on top of the tire wiping the blood from his lip and glared as he saw Hirutani man handle a very pissed off Idol. Great, how was he going to get her out of there?

"I challenge all of you to a game." He said getting their attention. He had hoped that she figured it out, before anything happens, "Haven't you notice?" He mocked seeing their faces, "I've planted a timed land mine around your feet."

"A land mine?" The boy left to Idol had asked, "What the heck is he talking about, Hirutani-san?"

"The timer is somewhere around here, can you find the switch on time?" Dark Yugi smirked, "If you can't then you will suffer a penalty game and be the victims of the land mine."

They scoffed, "He's bluffing, boss!"

"Yeah, he can't do that while we have his girlfriend."

Idol narrowed his eyes with a scoff, seeing as Hirutani hadn't let her go, "Of course he can, he's psychotic that way!"

"He's dead either way, I'll just hit him with my stungun!"

Then it clicked to them...

"DON'T USE THAT SHIT!"

Idol caught herself yelling with them. She tugged at the hand that held her hair while sending a glare to her millennial friend, "Yugi, I'm going to kill you!"

He said nothing but extended his arms at her. She stared at what he's standing and the millennium puzzle that was to the side that was hanging above the boy's... Her eyes widened at the sight. The stun gun is on. She started freaking out and she looked back at Hirutani who glared, "I see... He wasn't bluffing after all." He motioned around them, "Look at us, idiots, standing around in the rain, this kid lured us into this position."

The rest of the boys had this fearful expression on what could have happened to them if one of them didn't say anything at all. Idol took this as a golden moment. She placed on hand over the other fist and waited.

"I see the switch, boy!" Hirutani shouted, "We can't use our stun guns but we can still use our fists!" They all prepared to attack him but what Hirutani didn't expect was the pain that traveled from his testicles to his abdomen.

Idol felt her hair being released and she jumped forward. Yugi had caught her and gave a relieved smile. He felt her shaking and he wasn't aware if it was from the cold or out of fear that she almost had gotten shocked.

"You bitch!" Hirutani growled, "Get them both!"

"Times up, idiots." Yugi smirked, "And soon the switch will flip..."

They stopped and looked around. Hirutani was the first to see the boy who had been knocked out by Jounouchi earlier had his stun gun on. There was a water droplet that fell from the millennium puzzle onto the boy. This caused him to wake up and move his arm.

The Rintama boys shook their heads but it was too late. The stun gun had fell to the water shocking all of them. Yugi felt Idol's grip on him tightened, her face was buried against the crook of his neck. Soon their screams had died out and Idol had made a move to remove herself from him but Yugi kept her there. Idol had left her arms at her sides as he continued to hold her.

"Idol."

She stiffened hearing his voice so close to her ear. The tone of his voice sounded so tender that it made her feel nervous.

"I'm glad that you're okay."

Idol shook her head and then went to wrap her arms around him again.

"You're a pain in the ass."

* * *

**AN:**

Okay okay so many things going on now! I left you guys two updates in one night and currently working on chapter 8 which should be out maybe sometime next week. Getting held up reviewing some papers and exams and what not.

A few questions if any of you would like to answer... No, it won't change the story around I just want to hear opinions.

1\. Should the story end Season 0 around chapter 10?

2\. Yugi Mutou or The Pharaoh?

3\. Friend or Enemy?

Okay guys I'll leave you with that. Oh! I forgot about something. The cards that are played in Chapter 6 and 7 are based off of the original card game from Yu-Gi-Oh! Bandai cards and Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0.

Cheers!

And no Lauren, I didn't name the bar "J's" after our bar "AJ's" lol that is totally from the manga.


	8. Chapter 8

[sings incoherently]

Kawaitaaaaa Sakakakabeboai... What are you doing? We don't own this.

**Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi zzzzzzz...**

Chapter 8: In Time of Need

* * *

[700km south of Cairo, Egypt - three months ago]

The rays of the sun glared down on a group of kids huddled together trying to share whatever shade was left. Her eyes were so dry, along with her tongue, every time she tried to speak her throat got raspier by the minute. She thought about going back to sleep and just never to wake up again. It felt right. It felt painless. It felt...

A splash of lukewarm water showered over her and three others, "Wake up!" A man ordered harshly shoving them one by one, "Whoever wants the last remaining drinking water needs to lead us inside the tomb!" He hissed.

Every one of the hostages looked at him as if he were bat shit crazy. There was fear in most of their eyes and only anger in one of them. And that was her golden eyes perceived. She wanted this to end. She was this close of dying of dehydration. What more did they want from her?

"You're fucking insane!" A guy from her group croaked out, "You know how many have died trying to get the nameless pharaoh's treasure?" The cruel man sneered and stomped over to the kids, "What if it's already been raided? What if-" he was interrupted by getting smacked with the barrel of a gun.

"One of you here posses this knowledge of this so called shadow games and you will either die out here or you can all figure out how to get me what I damn want!"

That is when she realized that she royally screwed up. Someone had figured her out and now she had others here who didn't deserve this punishment. It had happened when they were on their next expedition. They were separated from the others and went on another jeep. Then out of nowhere, they have been hijacked by these crooks and she knows damn well who they are now. They were the hunters and they are here for her and the nameless pharaoh's treasure.

"We don't know anything!"

"We're just students studying abroad! Please just let us go!"

They all froze at the sound of the safety switch being turned off from the gun, "That's not the answer to what I'm looking for."

She couldn't let this continue, "Stop! It's me!"

All eyes were on her now.

"Just leave my classmates alone! Please, I'm the only one who knows!"

The next thing she knew is that they put a sack over her head and she was in complete darkness as she felt them touch her. She tried shoving them away but they took a hold of her and dragged her. The man with a gun in his hand commanded something in Arabic which made everyone else cry out in protest. Her ears were filled with three loud shots that can almost compare to the sound of thunder crackling. For the first time ever, she was truly, deeply, frightened.

They removed the sack but it was still dark. She felt cold and realized there were inside the pharaoh's tomb. The only light source was from her captor's torches. They kicked the back of her knees so that she can kneel. A pair of hands grabbed her face and made her open her mouth. She bit down on the man's finger which granted her a slap. They forced her mouth open again and shoved the container of whatever water is left down her throat. As she was trying to swallow, she nearly suffocated and she coughed out most of it. She tried not to vomit.

"There is no escape, Sachmis."

She knew where the voice came from and she knew who it was. She shut her eyes hoping it will all go away, "Y'know how long I've been searching for you?"

He forced her to look at him, "How I miss those eyes of yours." He pulled her up from the ground and shoved her forward which just made her fall onto her knees again, "Show me where it is!"

"It's not here." She whimpered trying to get up.

"Were you the one who came here earlier?" He grabbed her by the collar, "Is that why you were prancing around in Cairo, Egypt with a fake name? Huh? You had the damn thing with you!" He grabbed her face, "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"Boss, look!"

They both turned to see three of the Egyptian statue heads turned to look at them. This crept the entire crew except for her and the man who had her.

"We are wasting our time here." She muttered, "if we stay here long enough they'll end up killing us."

He grabbed her hair, "No, Sachmis, you wasted both our times when you ran away from us and tried to take matters into your own hands." He pushed her forward, walking very close behind her, "Now we make it out of this together. You die. I die."

"B-boss, what about us?" His remaining men whimpered.

"I suggest you follow behind as well if you want to live." He ordered and pushed her to walk. As she neared the statues, they moved to the side and bowed to her. Her hands were bound behind and she could feel his hot breath down her neck. She was shaking as she kept walking passed the rest and they continue to bow.

"Easy as pie." His breath brushed against her neck and she felt sick. Closing her eyes trying really hard not to vomit. She stopped when she heard his men let out a horrible cry. The statues didn't stay as they were and they literally attacked and murdered them. Pulling out their weapons and attacking the rest of the bandits behind them. Stabbing through their bodies like if they were nothing.

"Help u-Ahhh!"

She rushed over but was yanked back, "We're not finished yet!"

"You're just gonna let your people die!"

"I don't have use for them anymore!" He pushed her back to the opposite direction with a growl, "Now, move!"

She shook in fright. She didn't understand this at all. Why would the statues bow to her and not let the others pass? She was going to die here in this tomb, either by the hands of this disgusting man or by the hands of an angry pharaoh.

She stopped in front of a slab and the next room had a bridge.

"I can't barely read this text." She told him trying to hold back tears. He barely looked it over and paid attention to the next room, "Keep going."

"What if there's a trap!"

"I said, keep going."

She looked at the bridge before her. She had played too many tomb raider video games to know where this was going. She looked ahead and saw the dark tomb. From the stories they had told her, if the light is shone then the treasure will wait there. Though, it seemed that the tomb was empty. There was nothing but darkness. It's gone.

"It's not here." She whispered as her eyes searched the area but she couldn't see much. As she crept closer she was finally able to see the spot where the treasure once was.

"What did you say?" He asked walking closer to her.

She pointed, "See? I told you, it's not there!"

He looked at it and then at her. The gun was facing her and she backed up towards the bridge, "I'm sick of these games and I've given you so many chances!"

"Royaru, I'm telling the damn truth!" Her head had lowered down in mercy. Her wrists were bruising as they were trying to free themselves from the rope. She was close to crying.

"You're hiding it from me!"

"I don't want anything to do with this! I'm sick of this! I want to go home!"

"There was never home for you, Sachmis!" He crept closer and she kept backing away. Soon they were in the middle of the bridge and he began to choke her, "Your place is here in this tomb! This is where your soul will rot for all eternity!"

The ground felt hot underneath their feet and the tomb suddenly began to shake. He let go of her and tried to catch his balance. She on the other hand was close to knocking on the afterlife's door. Her wrists were now free but that didn't help her from falling onto the ground. Royaru looked over to her and he growled. He raised his gun towards her so that he could finish his job but then he stopped. Behind her, towering over them, looked what it seemed to be a demon. He couldn't believe it, this was something not of this world. If it weren't for the gut wrench smell he would've thought that he was hallucinating. No, this creature had decaying flesh falling out from its skeletal featured face. The only thing that didn't look like death was the golden crown that dangled from it's head, "By the gods, it's a zombie?" Royaru shot at it but nothing happened. It just crept closer.

Her lungs were breathing evenly now and she had to wake up at the right time. Gasping another set of oxygen, she saw this mummified demon-like creature hovering over her. It's skeletal hand pointed at Royaru and it spoke this language she couldn't distinguish at first but suddenly it was as if she understood it. And by the looks of it Royaru did as well.

"Death to those who poison and destroy the sacred blood." It snarled breathing out air that smelled like death, "...shalt smite thee with great vengeance and fury!"

"What. The. Fuck." She mouthed as her eyes rolled back and she fainted at the ugly cries that Royaru made as he'd fallen to his death.

And just how it appeared it was now gone. The tomb was empty and cold. All that remains was her passed out onto the floor. Her breathing was shallow and wheezing. Suddenly, there was a soft glow hovering over her. It became a makeshift humanoid transparent being and lifted her up. It carried her over to the empty spot where it once held the millennium puzzle. There was a hand over her and a voice echoed, "It's not our time, yet."

With that she gasped awake alone in her room at Domino City, modern time. It was still dark outside. She jumped out of bed, not caring that it was three in the morning. Her breathing was becoming rapid. That nightmare of a memory was coming back to her. She never wanted to think about that place again but it comes back as a reminder of why she's here. Trying her hardest not to go into an anxiety attack she could heard the millennium scale move behind her as if the thing mocked her. She sunk to the floor and buried her head between her knees and she started crying, "Why do you keep bringing me back here..." She sobbed, "What do you want from me!"

* * *

_"CAIRO - Domino City's University's archaeological team has discovered a pharaoh's tomb, dating back to the Egyptian "New Kingdom" era (1580-1314 BC)."_

Yugi's eyes widened as he read the newspaper, "Wow! Gramps, they found the tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh!" His grandfather came to read over his shoulder amazed by this great news, "That's how my treasure was found!"

"Hoho!" Grandpa chirped, "That's my old friend Professor Yoshimori!"

"Grandpa, it says that it was he who discovered it along with this other man." Yugi explained looking back at the newspaper.

"That is really good for him," Grandpa nodded having a proud smile that his friend made a fantastic discovery, "I'm going to go ahead and give him a call to see if he can let us go see it at the museum early."

Then Yugi got an idea, "Can I invite everyone else, Grandpa?"

"Of course you can!"

Yugi hurriedly gathered his backpack, "Thanks, Grandpa! I'm taking the newspaper!" Rushing out of the shop with excitement. He couldn't wait to show everyone else. He wondered how they would react. His thoughts went to Idol and that fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach made him want to sprint or gush out laughing. He remembered her interest in Egyptology and how she loved to hear his grandfather's adventures. This would definitely make her day. Suddenly, he stopped walking and looked around. "Strange." He wondered. Idol made it a habit to come by and walk with him to the bus. Maybe she had overslept? Now that he thought about it. He didn't know _where_ she slept. She never mentioned anything on where she lived or who she lived with. A frown fell upon his face realizing he didn't know much of the girl to begin with. He knew her interests in gaming. He knew what food she liked. He knew her favorite color. He knew she was smart at math. All he knew was subtracting life points. He knew how she acted with him and his friends but... He entered the bus and looked around for a place to sit or stand. He held onto a pole and there was still no sign of the girl.

His head had leaned against the pole as he clutched the newspaper close to him. His thoughts had drifted back to that particular girl. There was something about her that just pulled him forward to this dreamlike state. His breathing became deep as these thoughts of his tempted to embrace him with open arms.

Dark Yugi had gasped feeling as he had woken up. He had no idea what happened and for this is the second time this transition happened to him. He could feel his heart beating in his chest. As he calmed himself down he looked around the area a little confused. Ever since he had left the shop, he couldn't feel her presence anywhere. He didn't seemed as worried as his other half. Though, he could feel the feelings his other self had for her. Yugi wasn't aware of it and his darker self didn't think he wanted him to. It was confusing him. He didn't know if these thoughts were projecting from him or his other self. He wouldn't want to draw himself so close to her as well. Unlike his other half, he knew another side of her. Judging from all the times he had spent with her, although he didn't want to admit it, he knew very well that she was hiding something from him. She was careful at wording her words to keep him in the dark and he was fine with that for now. He didn't like it but something inside him wanted to trust her. The problem was, is it him or is it Yugi that's making him feel this way.

A bump in the road caused him to retreat back to his labyrinth of a mind and this led to Yugi bumping his face onto the pole.

"Gah!" He scolded himself for falling asleep while standing and went to grab the newspaper he had dropped. Adjusting the front cover he read the head lines over again...

"An Egyptian Exhibition!?"

His friends wondered enthusiastically. He just explained how there was going to be one held tomorrow at the Domino City Art Museum. He also got a confirmation that his grandfather's friend had sent the invite. He was pleased to know that his friends wanted in as well. Miho was already enamored at the idea. Honda agrees with her. Anzu seemed excited about it. Except for Jounouchi when they mentioned a mummy and curses.

"Don't scare him, Anzu." Yugi whispered to her as Jounouchi had grabbed a hold of him really believing that his short friend was cursed. He looked around and frowned again, "Jounouchi, have you seen Idol today?"

The thought of curses slipped away for now and Jounouchi scratched his head thinking, "Hm... No, now that you mention it." Like a light bulb had turned on in his head, "Oh! No wonder it's so quiet!"

"That's the same thing she said whenever you're not around." Anzu teased which made Jounouchi looked at her in shock, "What?! She talks about me behind my back!"

"Yugi, she probably has her hands full back at her class room." Anzu mentioned as she noticed the solemn look on his face, "From what I heard, Dr. Haner is starting his tests earlier than us."

Jounouchi made a disgusted look at the mention of that, "Feel sorry for her already."

All Yugi could do was nod but it felt like he knew that she wasn't around period. And if she wasn't in school at all, where else would she be?

* * *

Shadi remained expressionless as he observed the girl before him who kept glaring at him as she sipped her caffeinated tea, almost burning her tongue in the process. Neither of them had said anything. Shadi didn't need her to. Without the key, he can already read her.

She set her cup down and cleared her throat, "So... I assume you came all the way over here to scold me."

"I'm here to take the millennium scale back." That was the first sentence he had spoken since he had arrived at her dorm, "It seems you haven't done your job or anything for that matter."

"No, no, no!" She waved her finger at him, "You have no idea! I have taken the job of babysitting and solving a mystery here." Sipping her tea again and nodding to herself, "Yes, you should definitely see my scooby-doo gang."

"I don't understand what you mean but only assume you are talking about solving the millennium puzzle."

Her ears perked up at that and she smiled at him, "Oh, of course I am!" Biting down on her finger she automatically decided that it'd be better for him to know that the puzzle wasn't solved.

"Then where is the millennium puzzle?"

"Obviously, not anywhere near me!" She laughed at her own stupidity, "Cause that'd be stupid!"

Suddenly, a key appeared right in front of her and she stopped laughing completely and wore a scowl. He wasn't amused, "I don't need this key to know that you are lying to me. It was obviously solved, otherwise how else would you know it'd be here."

She rubbed her forehead and sighed harshly, "Shadi, I don't feel comfortable testing the power of the millennium puzzle. He isn't aware of what it does anyways."

"So, it's a boy?" His ears perked, smirking as he watched her grit her teeth, "That's all the information you're getting out of me."

Chuckling, Shadi crossed his arms, "Sachmis, what's with this territorial attitude? After I rescued you out of that tomb and unlocked the memory of your true identity you were so eager to collect the millennium items for me. Don't forget your purpose here."

"I want to help him, Shadi." She muttered softly.

"You have no say in that matter." He rose from his seat, "It looks like I'm wasting my time anyways." He went to grab the millennium scale that rested upon the night stand, "I'll take over from here, Sachmis."

She stood up and grabbed his arm that reached for the scale, "You're not going anywhere near him."

"And you're testing my patience, Sachmis."

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into!" She growled, "I've been inside the millennium puzzle, you'll go insane and go through a fate worse than dea-"

He roughly shoved her back, "How could _you_ possibly enter the puzzle's soul room? That makes no sense! As a matter of fact it's impossible!"

"I don't know what happened and if I did I wouldn't tell you!" She hissed as she regained her composure. Shaking his head, he clenched his fists, "You stupid, girl! First, you run off to take matters into your own hands and now you're prancing around with the millennium puzzle leaving a wide trail of enemies coming at you!"

"I've been handling it lately!"

"Sachmis, open your eyes! You have no idea what's going on! Don't you want your real memories back?"

She looked away from him and huffed, "All I wanted was a normal life back in California."

Shadi had his eyes narrowed and looked over to the millennium scale. After knowing what had happened to her as a child and being dragged into with those criminals then left her to die in the nameless pharaoh's tomb, he had saved her and took her to a modern day of Kul Elna. Natalie wasn't going to lie, she is grateful for the man in front of her but she was torn when he had given her an ultimatum. He had unlocked something inside of her that granted her to get in touch with her lost memories and her powers of the shadow games but it wasn't enough. There were other items out there that had the rest of her memories. A part of her has this undying need to get them back but... the other doesn't want anything to do with it. She was born weak. At the age of four after recovering from another fever they had told her that she wasn't going to have a long life span. Throughout her child hood she was forced to accept that and it made her fall under depression.

Closing her eyes to prevent any form of tears from falling she could remember how it was. She hated it. Why couldn't she be normal? The man in front of her had given her some answers but it only made her life even more confusing. Sighing she looked back at Shadi and placed her hands over the scale and with a soft tone she states, "I'll do it."

He gave her a long hard stare before he let go of the millennium scale. She held it close and sighed, "I want to do it on my terms, okay?" She then gave him a warning look, "Just don't hurt the boy."

He tilted his head to the side and then it dawned upon him, "You have feelings for him." It was more of a statement then an actual question. She just gave him an annoyed look, "If I say yes, will you agree to my terms?"

He didn't say anything but began to take his leave. As he reached the door he gave her one last look, "By the way, Sachmis, the last leading member of the hunter society is here in Domino."

Her eyes had widened and she let out a small gasp, "Come again?"

"The doctor of archaeology, Kanekura, he is now a curator and sponsoring for a Professor Yoshimori." Shadi informed her, "They had raided a pharaoh's tomb with the help of the hunters." He looked at the millennium scale, "I leave the judgement in your hands."

Natalie's lips began to form a smirk, "That is the only good thing you have told me today." And with that he was gone and she cradled the scale in her hands, "Ammit." She called out getting the demon's attention, "I think revenge is on the menu tonight."

_"Sachmis, the museum doesn't open till tomorrow."_

Natalie sighed, "Fine."

_"Can we still judge mortals tonight?"_

"No."

Natalie rubbed her temples and stared out the window, "How lucky Yugi gets some arrogant, insane ancient spirit that can hardly communicate with him and I'm stuck with some man-eating hag."

_"Sachmis!"_

[Sunday - Domino City Museum of Arts]

Yugi stood next to his grandfather with a frown displaying on his features. He had his hands tucked in the pockets of his school uniform pants. Yesterday, after school he went ahead to visit Idol's classroom. To his dismay, she wasn't at school at all and nobody had any contact information whatsoever. It was like the time that happened with Jounouchi all over.

"Look, Yugi!" His grandfather snapped him out of his thoughts, "Your friends have arrived!"

Yugi looked over to see Honda, Jounouchi, Miho, and Anzu walking towards them while waving. He smiled over to them before muttering, "Yeah... but not all of them."

"Ah, we made it!" Jounouchi grinned sporting a what appeared to be an old letter-man jacket. Anzu noticed a missing Idol and looked over to Yugi, "So, you didn't find her?" She whispered to him and he only shook his head.

"Are we ready to go inside?" Honda asked seeing an eager Miho but grandpa replied looking around the crowd of people, "Hold on, we are waiting for my friend."

Jounouchi on the other hand eyed Yugi, "School clothes on a Sunday?"

"Is that weird?" Yugi tilted his head, not seeing anything wrong with it.

Suddenly, a voice shouted, "Mutou-san!" It was a man who looked to be in his late forties. Yugi's grandfather's face lit up at the sight of his old friend, "Professor Yoshimori!"

The professor had a guilty expression as he approached the group, "I'm sorry I didn't write you.."

"I'm just as guilty!" Grandpa Mutou waved it off, "Anyway, thanks for inviting us." He then turned to the others, "Everyone, this is Professor Yoshimori!"

"Pleased to meet you all!" The professor waved with a friendly smile as everyone else returned the gesture. Honda gave him a look of admiration, "You are the one who found the king's tomb, such a talented person."

Miho's eyes brightened, "That's so cool!"

Grandpa Mutou noticed a shorter, stout gentleman walked up next to his friend, "And this man...?" He asked and the professor looked to see he had forgotten about the man, "Oh, yes!" Then he introduced, "This is the superintendent of the museum and the sponsor of the excavation and this exhibition."

"Kanekura's the name," The larger man grinned, "Welcome to my museum."

From afar, Natalie appeared with her black and gold attire that she hasn't worn since the night she met the spirit of the millennium puzzle. She arrived to Domino Museum hidden and in a good distance away from the man she had been eyeing. She smirked feeling one step closer. Now she had to wait to get him alone. Her eyes caught on to Yugi's gaze and she froze ducking a bit. It didn't seem that he noticed but he was still staring in her direction with a confused expression. A half-smile appeared on her lips as she watched him curiously. She wondered if the spirit senses her presence.

"Mutou-san, you said that your grandson solved the millennium puzzle?" Professor Yoshimori spoke up and then his eyes wondered to the boy next to Grandpa Mutou, "Ah, Yugi-kun."

Yugi deterred his eyes away at the mention of him name and then suddenly his neck was yanked forward, "Can it be? The rumored millennium puzzle!" Kanekura clutched at the puzzle greedily you can practically see him drooling. Yugi wanted to move his head away but the man wouldn't let go of his puzzle.

"Kanekura-san is a special art dealer," Professor Yoshimori informed, "You can trust his eyes."

"Um..." Honda intervened noticing how Miho couldn't contain anymore excitement, "more important, let's hurry and see the mummies." At the word of mummy, Jounouchi absentmindedly took a few steps back.

Kanekura then begged to Yugi to display the millennium puzzle at the exhibit. Natalie's ears perked and she peered closely again. Yugi looked a bit hesitant, not sure whether to give the man the okay or not. Natalie didn't realize she was shaking his head, if only she was there but she couldn't let Kanekura see her yet. She bit down on her lip, disgusted at the man begging a sixteen year old boy for the millennium item that they've been searching for years.

"It's only for one day, right?"

Natalie fell over at the sound of Yugi's voice, not caring if her face was full of dirt. She looked up to see Kanekura thanking Yugi a thousand times as he took away his puzzle. The girl growled as she pulled her hair in frustration, "Yugi, this is Kaiba all over again." She got up and walked to the back of the building to find Kanekura's office.

Once inside, she felt the lingering presence of the millennium puzzle and ended up on the floor of the actual exhibit. Her eyes didn't pay no attention to the amount of people in the room but they scanned at all the artifacts that were there. She didn't realize that there was a little girl running over to her, "Look mommy!" Natalie felt a tug at her sleeve and found a laughing child, "Look a real Egyptian!" The little girl exclaimed pointing at her. Natalie blushed a bit and shook her head at the child's silliness, "Uh, no kid, just a tanned Californian." She then exposed her lighter skin tone shoulder, "See? Farmer's tan."

The kids eyes brightened yet again, "An American Egyptian!"

Natalie rolled her eyes then she forgot about the clothes she is wearing, which didn't really made much sense. She looked like she was cosplaying an assassin in broad daylight with her hood and face mask down, cause wearing it would only draw more attention.

"Akane!" Natalie assumed the mother of the child shouted her name, "Leave the foreigner alone!" The child that had her sleeve let go and pouted but as she was about to run to catch up with her parents she waved her a good bye. Chuckling, Natalie kept walking till she froze at the sight of the millennium puzzle being on display.

Her hands smacked her cheeks in frustration, "Oh, no... Look at you." She circled around it, "Out and about for the whole world to see."

She could almost hear the dark spirit call out to her but she ignored him. Natalie went a few feet away and pretended to be intrigued by the weapons case as she heard Kanekura nearby. He was accompanied by a white, bearded man in a suit wearing these expensive looking rimmed glasses that shouted "douche bag".

"Mister Kanekura, this millennium puzzle is great!" Natalie arched a brow at his weird accent, "I will gladly give you a satisfying transaction."

Kanekura chuckled, "You have your eyes set on high." Natalie, on the other hand, scowled then heard Yugi's voice from a distant. From what she could see so did Kanekura, "Erm.. How about we negotiate the payment in my office, ten minutes before closing time."

"Yes, yes." The foreigner agreed and walked away from the puzzle with Kanekura. Anger took over Natalie and she stalked the man. If she had to wait till closing time, then so be it.

As the gang had left around four thirty and everyone else at the museum. The foreigner had lured his stalker to the outside of Kanekura's office, one and probably the last of the leaders from the old hunter organization. As the foreigner was about to knock, a growl echoed through the hall. The man froze and looked around the area to see if he heard right.

"That's strange... Almost sounded like a lion's..." He gasped as a figure made its presence known from the dark portion of the hallway. A scream traveled up from his windpipe but before he could even make a sound, the airway was blocked. He fidgeted trying to escape as his eyes widened more. There it reflected fear and a pair of golden eyes. Another hand covered his mouth while the other tightened its grip around his neck. Soon the man's eyes rolled back to his skull and his body stopped responding. He was dropped to the ground and Natalie walked over him to knock on the door.

"Come in!"

Mister Kanekura cradled the puzzle in his hands, excited for his next transaction. Though, when the door had opened the figure standing at the door way was not who he had expected. Ever. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her bug eyed, "Y-You! Impossible! You're dead!"

"Funny you'd mention that, wanna hear how I survived?" Natalie teased, "Hell, I got a nickname now: Sachmis."

Kanekura shook his head, "You weren't supposed to know! Royaru was supposed to kill you after he got the information to get this!" He waved the puzzle around which pissed her off.

"Well newsflash, Royaru died in that damn tomb and I'm here to end the hunters!" She threatened crushing a non-existent object as she formed a fist in front of him.

He stared at her in silence before howling in laughter, "You stupid, naive girl! You think this group will die just because Royaru or myself will be gone? YOU KNOW NOTHING!"

She crossed her arms clearly not amused, "Enlighten me."

"Oh, no, no, no..." He chuckled, "I'm not about to give you that information, little girl, you can't hurt me! I'll just call the police and-"

"And what? I'm a missing child for eight years and you are the only one to blame!"

"Natalie, you are out of your jurisdiction. Domino City's police won't do jack shit for you! You're a thief, a compulsive liar, and a murderer! Who are they going to believe? _You?_ A juvenile delinquent?"

Natalie slammed down the millennium scale on his desk which stopped him from antagonizing her. He looked at the item as if it were a product and stared at her in shock, "Where did you get that?"

"A disciple of Anubis entrusted me with this item as a second chance to redeem myself and to retrieve that millennium puzzle."

Kanekura brought the millennium puzzle closer to him, "This isn't yours to claim, little girl."

"I don't think you are in any position to make that sort of claim." Natalie sneered, "It's game time." She paused for a minute replaying what she said. She was starting to sound like her dark companion. Kanekura just gave her a puzzled look, "What game?"

"A shadow game, in which I will weigh your sins with the millennium scale."

He scoffed at her, "You're a load of crap, little girl!"

Ignoring his comment, she continued, "It's time, Kanekura, this is your final judgement." She pulled the feather away from her hair and placed on one of the dishes of the scale, "I'm going to give you three questions. Answer truthfully and we shall see if your heart weighs more than the feather."

"Fine, then."

"A little girl holds the power of the shadows and has great knowledge pertaining to the millennium items stored dormant deep within her memories. She also has a short life span, would you murder her parents in a fire and steal the child away or would you let her live a normal life?" Her voice got deeper as she finished the question. Her golden eyes were burning right through his skull. He knew what she was talking about and the scale shook and weighed down. He didn't need to answer because the event had happened eight years ago. It was insanity, he thought as he watched the scale move on its own.

"Next question!"

He stared at the girl, realizing this was the real deal, "No, stop! Listen to me, I had no idea who you are! It was Royaru, you see! I was only in it for the money!" Natalie only smirked and continued.

Meanwhile, Yugi had been sitting down outside the museum watching the birds fly by every once in a while. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his head telling him to go inside. Obviously, he felt worried about the millennium puzzle since he'd never been separated by it for long. Though, the thoughts of the puzzle and Idol kept flashing through his head. It was as if he was seeing images through a person's eye. It was strange. Maybe he had to check his watch again. It read four fifty-five. Seems like a good time to get the puzzle now. Maybe then he would finally feel at ease and look forward to see Idol tomorrow at school.

The dish that weighed Kanekura's heart was close to reaching the table. The room was getting darker and colder by the minute.

"Kanekura, I have to say... I'm kinda glad in a way that you exposed me to this lifestyle." Natalie chuckled as she swiftly took the puzzle away from Kanekura's hands. She stared at them as if they were filthy and she smirked watching her annoying demon friend made its appearance. Kanekura's chair began to shape shift. He looked around it as he squealed feeling two claws holding him down, "What's happening to my chair?!" He looked up to see a set of jaws grinning down at him.

"If it weren't for this lifestyle, then I wouldn't have met such fantastic friends." She purred as she caressed the puzzle, "That is Ammit." She looked at the chimeric beast, "Ammit, this is an old friend Kanekura."

Drool began to cover Kanekura's face as he tried to shake himself free and Natalie spoke again, "Last question, did you trespass on the lands of the Gods for your profit or only to behold their radiant treasure?" She snarled waving the puzzle around his face. Kanekura began to scream, "Natalie!" He begged, "Please! Stop child! I'll give you anything you want! You could live a happy life! You could own anything!"

Natalie held a hand up to stop Ammit for a moment and she perched herself onto the desk wearing a hopeful look on her face, "You really mean it, Kanekura-san? A happy life?" Her voice sounded so high and soft like a little girl's. The same voice he had heard all those years ago. He nodded constantly with hopeful eyes, "Yes, Natalie, become my apprentice! Together we can take back the hunter society and we can find all the millennium items! You like that, right?"

"Gee..." She stared off blissfully before her voice became dark and sarcastic again, "What a life to live everyday remembering how you robbed my child hood away!" She hopped back away from the desk and nodded to Ammit seeing as the dish dropped completely.

"Kanekura, there is no truth in you. There is only greed for power..." She looked down at the puzzle in her hands and then back at him, "Your judgement has been reached." And with that Ammit hoisted Kanekura up and welcomed him with open jaws. Natalie placed her back against the corner and closed her eyes shut upon hearing the screams. She didn't realize that she had been crying. She fell to the ground and held the puzzle closer to her. Though, that didn't stop the screams or the sounds of Ammit tearing flesh.

"I'm a monster." She whispered as her tears had fallen onto the puzzle. Then Ammit let out a large belching noise and crawled over to Natalie. Her frontal lion paws stumbled trying to carry it's massive crocodile head. The other half of Ammit's body wobbled side to side like a hippo. Ammit gave her a grin, satisfied with her meal.

_"Don't be so hard on yourself, Sachmis."_

Natalie ignored the demon and held onto the puzzle tighter as if the item had a place for her own salvation. If only she could hide away into that cold and crummy labyrinth.

_"Sachmis, Shadi told me not to reveal a portion of your real memories till you were ready."_

By now, Natalie's sobs had subsided and she looked at the beast, "What are you talking about?"

_"The millennium key is what revealed your identity as Sachmis."_

"So what?" Natalie scoffed, "After Shadi probed my head with that stupid key, almost everyone that barely knows me refers me to that." She placed the puzzle onto her lap and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, "I don't even know what the fuck that means!"

Ammit chuckled as it crawled over to the desk to grab the scale by it's mouth and wobbled over to Natalie, _"Then let me show you."_

Natalie gave the demon a frightful look and backed away...well pushed herself more against the wall, "Wait... What are you doing?" Her eyes then wondered over to the eye of Ra that was on the scale and then a blinding light flashed the room causing Natalie to flinch.

Shadi wore an expressionless face as he heard that his pupil had done what she was intended to. Pleased with that he took his leave after deciding that she should hang on to both the scale and the puzzle. They are safe in her hands anyways, he thought. Though, the thought still remained as to who solved it in the first place. Natalie had told him about finding the boy but she didn't say much as to who he is. Shadi's eyes narrowed at her behavior. She was obviously hiding the boy from him. The question was, why? Suddenly, a set of footsteps echoed and Shadi thought it was Natalie but the sounds are coming from ahead of him.

There he spotted a boy wandering aimlessly while talking to himself, "This museum is like a maze!" Shadi overheard as he made his way in front of the boy. Yugi stopped jogging and stared at the man in confusion. He rubbed the back of his head wondering if the Egyptian man would know where his puzzle was at. He doubted it, but asked anyways, "Um, have you seen the director? He promised to return my puzzle." Yugi made an enlightened upside down triangle with his hands, "It's shaped like this."

Realization hit Shadi like a wrecking ball and inwardly gasped, _"Could this be the boy that Natalie was hiding from me?"_

"I guess you don't know?" Yugi frowned seeing as there was no response from the man. Shadi on the other hand was still taken aback at the thought that this boy was the one who solved the millennium puzzle. This little boy now possesses the same power as he and Natalie. Right? He had to know. He looked around to see if Natalie was around. He had to break his promise. He needs this boy's information, it's the only way.

Yugi was feeling a little uneasy at the silence. This man hasn't said anything but just stared at him. Yugi didn't know whether to feel scared or concerned for the Egyptian man who he caught crying earlier, _"Maybe he really is crazy..._

Shadi, then had his eyes closed and concentrated on his millennium key, _"I will use this to peer into the boy's mind room."_ The key fidgeted and released itself, pointing at Yugi. Before Yugi could react or even flinch, the key flew at him and stopped right in front of his forehead, granting Shadi access. Shadi walked through the flashing light and stopped to see two rooms separated by a hallway. He stopped for a moment not understanding how this came to be. Never ever had he come by an individual who had two mind rooms. It was impossible. Could this be the real reason as to why Natalie was hiding this boy? Shadi walked further to investigate more and looked at the opened door. This room contained nothing but scattered toys on the ground. Like a child's untidy room. It was nothing but innocence and purity. Not a wicked thought to be seen. Shadi's eyes then roamed over to the other door that was closed. This entire wall seemed out of the ordinary. Like a tumor attached and growing onto the opposite wall. He approached the door to continue to observe. Then it creaked open which surprised Shadi. The room then revealed the boy looking back at him.

"Hmmm..." Dark Yugi looked at Shadi in curiosity, "A visitor." He smirked, "Do come in, if you have the courage, the game is already set up."

* * *

**AN:**

Anyone catch the illuminati reference? Eh? EH?! Ok... I'm going back to my corner :D

Y'know I actually wanted to upload this last Friday because of this one review that had me and Lauren go through shits and giggles. That morning I was kinda frustrated cause there weren't a lot of Yugi/OC fics. I mean, don't get me wrong. I like the Pharaoh. Everyone likes the pharaoh. You get a pharaoh. And you get a pharaoh. Your neighbor gets a pharaoh. Your mom- Ok, I won't make a mom joke. I stopped myself right there. But I mean come on Yugi Mutou is a badass all by himself guys. Gais?

Sean: Nikki, without the puzzle the dude gets the shit beat out of him.

Okay, you see that right there is why we can't be friends. DO I HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE MEW YUGIOH MOVIE FOR PEOPLE TO REALIZE HOW MUCH OF A BADASS YGUI MUOUTO IS?

Yeah... I don't really care. Not like I spend my days reading fanfiction anymore (I do and I'm sad). But anyways I'm not too proud of this chapter. I had to pause in writing cause I wasn't feeling it in some parts as you can see right there *points and slaps the computer screen* Yeah that there I don't like it but that *punches computer* that I like.

Now last but not least... Allow me to give you all an alternative scene from the last chapter cause... Well I don't know:

Taken from this section:

_Honda approved of that and took off to the right and Yugi stared at Idol for a bit with a worried expression. She looked over to Yugi and smiled getting closer to him, "Yugi, promise me something."_

_"What is it?" Again there was that fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach. She reached over and grabbed his millennium puzzle, "If you are in any trouble..." He noticed her hands were shaking, "This is going to sound ridiculous but I need you to hold onto this and wish for the puzzle."_

_"Idol?" Yugi frowned, "I don't understand."_

_"Just trust me?" She pleaded, "Remember the time you told me about how the millennium puzzle can grant you wishes? I need you to do that for me, okay?"_

And now the 4kids (not really guys) version:

Yugi stared at Idol for a bit with a worried expression. She caught that and a small smile formed upon her lips as she got closer to him, "Yugi, can you promise me something?"

He tilted his head to the side, "What is it?" Again there was that fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach. She reached over and grabbed his millennium puzzle, "If you are in any trouble..." He noticed her hands were shaking, "This is going to sound ridiculous but I need you to hold onto this and shout _Yu-Gi-Oh!"_

"Uh..." He gave her a confused look, "Idol, why would I say my name like that?"

She stayed silent and awkwardly stepped back, "Um, well." She chuckled, "I don't know, I didn't think I'd make it this far."

_Thank you, guys! Hasta la vista! I'll come back next week!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Birdhouse in Your Soul**

**Rated M for Mmmmm... viewers discretion is advised**

**Chapter 9 - Frenemies Pt.1**

* * *

_"Upon the wish of the former pharaoh, you and I will serve and protect our new king. Sachmis, I am counting on you to carry out your duty. With each Millennium Item will store pieces of your memory. The Millennium Puzzle will be the most difficult and it will be the last memory you will receive. Therefore, it is important this item doesn't fall into the wrong hands no matter the circumstance. If any of the items are unlocked or have fallen to the wrong hands, then the shadow games will arise and you, Sachmis, will be ready."_

Natalie felt like she was flying past images at a rapid speed. Her eyes were dilated as she felt a load amount of information pouring in her brain. It was too much. She felt her hands clamped on each side of her head as she felt a migraine coming in. There spoke the same voice she heard in her dreams, delivering the same message to her as they did five thousand years ago. A chunk of information and knowledge from five thousand years ago terrorized her mind. It was utterly impossible, she thought trying to rationalize what was happening to her. There was no way. She was now hunched over trying to grasp her sanity as it was slipping away from her. Her heart twinged as her emotions flooded through her with that sense of familiarity and heartache. They settled in between each memory. Her hands were already pulling at her hair. She couldn't take it anymore. Her head went back and she let out a scream.

The screams had echoed not only the museum but in the dark and cold atmosphere that lingered inside the millennium puzzle. The other Yugi leaned against one of the doors of his labyrinth. This was the door that allowed him to sense outside of the puzzle. He knew she had it but what he didn't know what was going on with her. There was no danger around her. It was only her, the millennium scale, and the two men she had killed. Some things he had heard made him grow more suspicious of her. His eyes had narrowed, "Curious." He muttered to himself. Then he stared back to the man with the millennium key who is now playing hide and go seek with him. The man is still prowling about in his labyrinth. He is currently seeking of the power of the millennium puzzle. As much as he hated to admit, the dark spirit has no idea as to what that kind of power is. He trusts that the puzzle itself won't let anyone else know about it as well. Though, he can not be so sure. The fact that there's someone here intruding in his personal space that isn't Idol is making him feel uncomfortable. Even so, if that Egyptian man were to find its secrets what would he do with it once he gets his hands on them? One thing Idol made clear was that there was for sure other items out there aside from his, hers, and this man's key. Another thing that made the dark alter ego feel uneasy is that this man knows so much. He knows about Idol's millennium item and there is no denying it, he must know about her as well. Feeling his teeth grit, he had come to an unsettling conclusion. Not only he had to worry about Idol but now he had this man in the picture. The only thing he can do now is wait. The dark spirit stepped away and closed the door behind him. He smirked at the sight of the Egyptian man still looking for him. He closed his eyes and transported to his personal room.

History of the game... It dates back five thousand years into the past of Ancient Egypt. The ancient game predicted the future of thieves, kings, and all humans. It was a ceremony that decided fate. It was called the shadow game. Shadi's body was sprawled onto one of the stairs to a door in this dreaded maze. He caught his breath overcoming the illusion of being burned alive. Aggravated with all the traps he was falling into he slammed his fist to the ground. He stopped himself quick before he blew a gasket. There is no point in running into all doors blindly out of frustration. His eyes then shut and he focused. Opening all his senses and feeling the force around him to find the mark. It was obvious that this labyrinth was built to keep intruders out. Shadi stood and kept his back straight. Breathing deeply as the third eye appeared on his forehead. He began to walk with his eyes closed and followed his true sense. _"The mystery of the millennium puzzle lies..."_ He paused for a moment and opened his eyes now. There he stood before a door, "This must be it." He then proceeded to open the door and stepped in.

There sat the spirit of the millennium puzzle with an expected almost mocking glance, "Yo." The spirit greeted casually.

"Have I reached the real room?" Shadi questioned as he marched over to the boy who began to grin. The ground beneath his feet no longer supported Shadi and with a frightful gasp he quickly latched on to the nearest edge of the floor that was still intact. Letting out a frustrated growl, Shadi tried to heave himself away from danger. Though, this just made him swung almost loosing his grip. He couldn't believe that he had fallen to another damn trap! Shadi struggled to keep that grip. _"This is bad!"_ He thought, _"If I fall into the pit of darkness, I'll never leave this boy's mind!"_

He heard footsteps approach him. Shadi looked up to see the boy standing over him with a smirk on his face. Fear spread across Shadi's face as he realized that this was his end. It was as if the boy had read his mind and he chuckled, "What? You think I'm going to push you?"

Defeated by an arrogant boy is what will be read on his forehead in the afterlife. Before Shadi knew it, the boy bend forward and extended his hand. Shadi looked at it suspiciously and the boy's smirk faded to a small smile, "It's okay." He assured him, "My hand is not a trap."

Shadi was on one knee as he savored the stable ground underneath him. Out of breath, he was in disbelief and did not know which is worse. Being defeated or having to accept help from this boy. He decided to swallow his pride and savor life again, "I am in your debt." He admitted to the boy. The spirit tucked his hands into his pockets, his face remained indifferent. "Maybe that will teach you not to go around peeping into people's mind rooms."

Shadi stood and narrowed his eyes, "I suppose that I have lost this game..."

"Well," The spirit frowned as he answered, "Is this the beginning?"

The Egyptian man nodded and proceeded to walk out of this damned place. "Wait." The boy called out to him. Shadi looked over at him to see what else he had to say.

"I want to know who _Natalie_ is."

For some reason, Shadi knew this question would appear sooner or later. Though, it's not his place to reveal such information. He wonders... What sort of relationship did his apprentice and this boy have? Maybe he could use it but as for the question... What did this boy expect? Without over-thinking this and prolonging his amount of time to give this boy an answer he decided, "I am not sure who you are referring to."

Not satisfied with that answer the spirit then asked, "You said you knew about other items, particularly the millennium scale, how is it that you know and where is it located?"

Shadi frowned as he made himself closer to the exit. He would have to talk to Natalie later about this. Or perhaps... She doesn't have to know. For now, he wished to see this boy's reaction, "I know of the millennium scale because it was once mine and..." He chose his words wisely, "It was once stolen by a little girl."

The boy's eyes widened and Shadi internally smirked, "Can I ask you something?" Shadi asked staring at the boy in curiosity, "Why does the millennium scale matter to you?"

The spirit processed whatever evidence he had been analyzing ever since he had made a pact with his friend. No. Even before that. One thing is certain, she had been hiding her identity from him and from what he gathered through his puzzle he knew why. Now the question is how does the man in front of him come in to the picture. As the Egyptian man claims that he is unaware of who Idol, now Natalie, is then all he knows is of her stealing his millennium item. This makes sense as he recalled at who she used to work for. Now the other question the man had gave him, "I wanted to know that if you had it in your possession." The spirit shrugged, "Is all." Seeing as he knew a lot about his key and scale, "However, was this little girl who stole from you... Did you know who she is?"

Shadi didn't say anything and the spirit questioned him again, "Did she have a name? Is it the same one that I am referring to earlier?"

Shadi let out a small sigh and then answered, "Yes. Her name was Natalie."

* * *

Natalie awoke from what appeared to be a five minute nap. Ammit was nowhere to be found. Kanekura's body sat limp at his chair behind the office desk. It was only her and the two items. She looked around with a frown. It's as if everything she perceives is at a different light. She tucked the scale away and the feather behind her ear. The millennium puzzle is at her hands. Her golden eyes gazed upon it with admiration. This was different. She was aware at her attitude change towards this item but she didn't know what to think of it. She knew that this and all the other items were to be in her possession. Not Shadi's. Not with the hunters. And... Not with Yugi. With this, she can uncover what other knowledge she has within her and finally rid of its existence along with the shadow games. With a grin, she rose from where she is and walked out of the room.

Shadi looked over to the other, innocent boy who kept giving him a worried glance, "I'm fine but as for your puzzle it should be back in the office."

"Oh?" Yugi's face lit up, "Thank you so much!"

"No, need," Shadi replied, "I am in debt to you after all." Yugi tilted his head in confusion, "In debt for what?"

"I am in debt to the other you." Shadi simply said.

Yugi, bewildered, gave him a weird look, "The other _me_?" He was at a loss of words. That sounded ridiculous. As if he had some sort of other secret identity he didn't know about. He was no Clark Kent. With this thought, he busted out laughing and held his sides. Perhaps, this strange Egyptian man is crazy. After all that he's seeing two of him.

Shadi, on the other hand, was not amused. Though, he had taken note that the boy in front of him has no clue of what's been going on around him. Completely oblivious to the fact that he has a hidden personality. This can be remedied soon. Yugi kept chuckling at the fact that Shadi made such a claim. He stood up and asked, "Child, what is your name?"

After recovering from laughter, Yugi corrected him, "It's Yugi!" He emphasized, "Not child. Yugi!"

Shadi began to take his leave, "Yugi, from now on, be on alert. You will discover your other self." Yugi still kept giving him that worried look as if he were crazy. No matter. This had to be said, "Someday, you will discover the secret, true power of the millennium puzzle that has been sealed for five thousand years. That is the fate of he who solves the puzzle."

"True power?" Yugi muttered.

"My name is Shadi," He chuckled at his introduction, "I've never told anyone my name before." And with that he took his leave. Soon he will meet up with his apprentice. There is still one more judgement before they can take on the power of the puzzle. _He_ will make his appearance again. That was certain.

Yugi was left alone staring at the strange man depart. He wasn't sure of what to make of his statements about him and the puzzle. Then it hit him. He still needed to get the puzzle! He turned around to run to the office but instead his face ran into something soft. Blushing as he realized what it was that he's pressed up against, he stumbles back stammering an apology. Natalie on the other hand wasn't bothered by it as she patted her chest, "No harm done, Yug." She gave him an amused look, "Though, why are you in such a hurry?" The warmth in Yugi's cheeks didn't fade as he saw her. A flood of emotions went through him and questions he needed to ask her. One was where the hell has she been all this time. Two, why is she dressed like that.

"Oh, this?" She looked at her outfit, "I'm into cosplaying."

Her eyes studied his reaction and it was strange to see him so bothered by her appearance. Did he not want her to be around him anymore? Natalie frowned at that. She felt a little hurt by it and more of guilt. Biting her tongue, she shunned those feelings away. She was not going to let a boy, who has done nothing but be kind to her, ruin her hidden intentions. Her thoughts went to the spirit of the millennium puzzle. She will soon confront him and find out the truth. No more games or the _"I don't know who I am"_ act. He must be hiding something in that labyrinth of his. She noticed Yugi's eyes began to water up and she blinked in confusion. Why is he-?

"Idol! I thought something bad had happened to you!" He exclaimed and she suddenly forgot how loud his voice can get. She was at a loss of words as he continued, "You didn't show up this morning and you weren't at school! I didn't know if you were sick or something worse had happened!"

She chuckled and she ruffled his hair, "Yugi, if I was sick, the nurse or whoever is in charge of student's health records would come in to my homeroom explaining I won't be attending school for a very long time."

That information didn't help him and just caused him to frown even more. Her hands went from his hair to his shoulders and she bent forward a bit to be at eye-level with him, "Though, I appreciate your concern and I'm sorry I didn't give you a call before hand. I kinda wanted to prepare for this exhibition and to see if any of my old friends are here."

"Like Yume?" Yugi wondered and she was surprised that he even remembered her name. Natalie simply smiled, her eyes getting darker as she thought back to Kanekura's fate.

"Yeah." She muttered moving away from him to stand up straight, "Though, I didn't see her but I found something else."

"Oh?"

Natalie's hand reached into her robes to reveal the millennium puzzle, "I think this is what you're looking for."

And with that Yugi's eyes lit up as he grabbed the puzzle and putting it on. He felt complete with the weight of the pendant back around his neck. Suddenly the whole absent thing had gone away from his thoughts and now all he could do was show her his gratitude, "Idol, I don't know how you got this but thank you! Thank you so much!"

She chuckled, "Oh, stop it." Then her stomach growled out of nowhere which made her cringe in embarrassment. Now it was his turn to chuckle, "Hey, Idol, how about we go get something to eat?"

"Back at your place?"

"Um..." He shook his head and his cheeks were pink once again, "I was wondering more along the lines of going to a burger joint... Just the two of us."

She wondered if it'd be a good idea to be alone with him. She looked at the time and noticed she had time to spare before the sunsets. She wasn't so sure what will happen after she carried out the final judgement or where Shadi is at the moment. As for the millennium puzzle, for now, it will be in Yugi's hands. Her head began to dull at the back of her head. It was as if she were being pulled into two different directions. Before she could hit her head against the wall she forced a smile, "Sure, Yugi, that sounds nice."

Yugi's eyes lit up again and they began to walk out of the museum, "Don't worry about the cost. I'll pay for both of us."

"Yugi, you have to stop spoiling me." She chuckled, "Anyways, I can't join you afterwards. I have to catch up on what I missed out."

"Fair enough," Yugi nodded, "Idol, will you call me when you get home?"

She contemplated with her answer but ended up saying, "Sure."

It was no promise, though.

* * *

Yugi sat on his desk a little disappointed. He had offer to walk her home but she insisted that she would be fine and that the place she stayed at was about ten to fifteen minutes up north to where he is. Either way he would expect a phone call from her. Why did he feel like this was truly necessary? He knew she could take care of herself but he couldn't stop worrying. He had the same feeling when he was separated from his puzzle. His thoughts traveled back to that strange man called Shadi. He had said that there is another him and that the millennium puzzle has a secret. What could that possibly mean? And Idol was sure acting a little out of character. Did she felt uncomfortable around him? He had hoped that wasn't the case. He let out a tired sigh and decided he should just call it a night.

Though, before he could even think about getting into his pajamas his grandfather burst through his door, "Yugi! It's awful!"

He almost fell over his chair and gave his grandfather a confused look, "What is it, gramps?"

His grandfather just ran back down to the living room, his voice echoed the hallways, "It's all over the news!"

"News?" Yugi questioned as he followed his grandfather trail. What he didn't expect were the headlines on the television.

_"CURSE OF THE PHARAOH'S TOMB!"_

It was almost as if they were watching a horror movie. News about the museum curator's dead body had been found in his office. The cause of death was shock, enough to make his heart burst. Though, the coroner's report said that this was a very unusual way to die. This was all so weird. First, the Egyptian man and now this. Curses don't exist... Do they?

"We just met him yesterday and now he's gone." He heard his grandfather muttered from the kitchen table. Yugi stared at him warily, "Grandpa, you don't think it's a curse, do you?"

"I wouldn't know, Yugi." His grandfather replied, concerned written all over his face, "What I am worried about is the second person to enter the tomb. Professor Yoshimori." He refused to think of such ill will that would fall upon his old friend, "Yugi, I'm going to visit his office." He stood up and went to grab the keys of the shop.

"Can I go as well?" Yugi asked feeling a bit anxious of the whole thing. His grandfather nodded and gestured him to follow as he put on his coat. Yugi went ahead and quickly slipped on his shoes stumbling in the process. He couldn't help but feel that he was being obsessive about something. Idol hasn't called to let him know that she was home. Not only that but he couldn't disregard as to how she got her hands onto the millennium puzzle.

He shook his head, _"No! Why would I think of such a thing? What's wrong with me?"_ Idol having something to do with the museum's curator? It was outrageous. There was also an annoying jab at the back of his mind, almost like if something was reaching out to him. Once he was outside, Yugi took in a breath and sighed. Maybe a walk would help ease his mind.

"Yo, Yugi!" He suddenly heard Jounouchi's voice. Yugi looked over to see him and Anzu walking towards them.

"Hey, guys!"

"We heard about the curator on the news!" Jounouchi explained and Anzu wore a shocked look on her face at the whole situation.

Yugi nodded at them, "Yeah, gramps and I were about to go over to the college to meet with the professor."

"Y'know something tells me that this whole thing smells like a curse!" Jounouchi stroked his chin as if he had facial hair.

"Really? This again?" Anzu retorted.

Yugi gave both of them an uneasy look, "Guys? Maybe you two shouldn't go... I've got a bad feeling about this."

With this comment, Anzu sent a glare towards Jounouchi. Because he went ahead and said those things it made Yugi worry. And Jounouchi understood it so both of them tried to reassure their short friend.

"It's okay, Yugi." Anzu began, "Jounouchi worries about a curse, but he knows that it's not real." She nudged the blonde's side.

"Nope! Not scared at all!" Jounouchi chuckled nervously and then gets serious, "But really I owe Professor Yoshimori for showing us around the museum. I'm just as worried about him as you are, Yug."

Yugi lips broke into a soft smile, "Yeah, that's true." Then he winked while apologizing, "Sorry for saying something weird." This earned him a hard pat on the back from his tall friend, "No sweat!"

His grandfather chuckled at the interaction, "Well then, let's go!"

**_To be continued..._**

* * *

**_AN:_**

Wow, so yeah I've taken advantage of spring break and gave myself almost three weeks of vacation and I gotta say it was worth it. Lol so yeah this was what I was afraid of. Like I thought I wasn't gonna come back to this and I'm in bed one night and I say to myself, "Oh god, it's over... Just like the Captain America fanfic and it goes hiatus at chapter 8. Lauren is gonna be pissed." Coming back to this was even harder but somehow it kinda worked. I had a hard time writing Yugi for some reason in this chapter. Nvm I have a hard time writing him period.

Has anyone ever gone through this? While writing your fanfic, you kinda just pause for a moment and stare up at the ceiling asking yourself, "What am I doing?"

And then a voice whispers back to you from your closet, "You are writing a fucking Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic that isn't fucking puzzleshipping or anything yaoi related."

"Well... Shit."

Guys I'm so sad that this chapter is so short. I've got used to making up to 8,000 word chapters and this is back to like my beginning chapters lol I have this huge debate with myself whether or not I should upload this right now or not. So, I made two parts and accidentally started writing chapter 11 before I even touched chapter 10. Not to worry. Second part will come soon.


	10. Chapter 10

**Stay tuned for a deleted scene after this chapter!... And credits!**

**Chapter 10 - Frenemies Pt.2**

* * *

_Department of Archaeology..._

Natalie watched the man in the shadows of his office. He was the department head of the school of archaeology in Domino University. She could tell he had a load amount of stress due to finding out that his partner is dead. It's funny how the news is treating it as some supernatural phenomenon thinking it's a curse. Perhaps it is. Not a curse from the Pharaoh. But a curse for someone such as herself having to go through with this. She felt Shadi enter the room. This caused the poor professor to freak out about his surroundings. She kinda felt bad for him. Even without the scale she could see that this man is not like Kanekura.

_"This is the other criminal who dared to trespass on the land of the Gods at Biban El' Mul-Uk."_ Shadi explained to her through the millennium items, _"Watch, my apprentice, as I use the millennium key to peer into his mind's room."_

"Why go in his room?" She wondered.

"To confirm that he is the right man." Shadi then pointed his key at the back of said man's head and both of them were transported into his mind. Natalie was overwhelmed at the amount of excavated artifacts in this man's mind. It was almost as if he had an obsession. She walked around and her eye observed a dusty old picture. She grabbed it and wiped the surface off to see what is was. A picture of his family.

"So," Shadi appeared behind her which caused her to jump, "He has become so obsessed with his work to the point where he has neglected his family."

Natalie placed the photo down, "That's more of a personal problem but not something that will make him a criminal."

"You're right." Shadi said absentmindedly as he continued to lurk around. This sort of made her uncomfortable as she wasn't used to invading someone's mind. The whole room is dark and gloomy and there was only a spark of light in the corner that represented hope. She could see Shadi trying to peer into it and she stayed where she was waiting for him to finish. Suddenly, Shadi saw something that made him gasp and back away. This alarmed Natalie but he played it off as if it was nothing. He looked over to her and brought out his millennium key, "Natalie, we are going to have guests soon." He was going to kick her out, "I need you to distract them."

She nodded at his request and then an image of Yugi flashed in her mind. She paused and looked back at the mind room as it was remodeling itself. What the hell is Shadi planning on doing? Back to the world around her. She ran to window to see the view at the ground. She was shocked to see Yugi, his grandfather, Anzu, and Jounouchi coming this way. And one thought came to mind, "He's going to take the puzzle."

* * *

"Here we are!" Yugi's grandfather exclaimed as the group arrived at Domino University. Anzu observed how dark the sky had gone. This lead to Jounouchi freaking out about how freaky school is at night. Especially an old university (AN: no kidding).

"Really, Jounouchi, you're such a coward." Anzu commented as they strolled the hallways already on the designated floor. She paused for a moment and frowned. Yugi caught this, "Anzu?" Was she scared as well?

"I thought I heard something?"

"And you say I'm paranoid." Jounouchi grumbled which cause her to nudge him, "No, stupid, I heard a girl crying."

"How?"

And just like that Natalie scurried over to them jumping onto Anzu like a scared child, "Please, save me!"

"Idol!" Anzu had taken a step back because of the girl's weight. Even though Natalie was a little shorter than her she still weighed a lot. Natalie had got off of her and stared at everyone in shock, "Guys we have to get out of here. There's a crazy man over there!"

"Are you talking about Professor Yoshimori?" Yugi asked wondering what could have caused her to react this way. And he wondered why was she here when she told him she was going home?

"I assume that's who it is!" Natalie stayed behind Anzu who wore a mask of annoyance. Jounouchi chuckled seeing that he wasn't the only who was spooked at the whole thing, "Idol, did Yugi tell you what happened?"

"Sorta I kinda got curious and broke in to see if the curse is real."

"But Idol, curses aren't real." Anzu told the scared girl who was still behind her. Natalie shot her a glare, "You don't know that."

"Well let's not waste anytime." Mr. Mutou spoke up, "I'm sure everything is fine, Idol."

"But, but, but..." Anzu then tugged her to follow them and Natalie inwardly sighed aggravatingly. How in the hell is she going to keep them all away? Yugi kept glancing her way. He felt that there was something not right. Maybe she was telling the truth?

They were all stopped in front of the office with Anzu lecturing Jounouchi how to behave and how to cheer someone up after they had found out that their coworker is dead. As she did that Grandpa Mutou looked forward to having a drink with his friend and reminisce. Natalie had stayed behind them shuffling her feet out of discomfort. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Yugi gave her a concerned look, "Idol, are you still concerned about the professor?"

"I am more concerned about you." She answered honestly which caught him by surprise. Before he could ask her about how she ended up getting here everyone else had knocked and walked in to Professor Yoshimori's office. Natalie tensed at the possessed man in front of them. What in the hell is Shadi going to do? She was amazed at the fact nobody had noticed this man's strange behavior since their attention is directed to Jounouchi's attempt at cheering someone up. Though, Natalie's ears didn't fail her. The professor kept muttering something so dark and it felt like it was reflecting back at her.

"I killed him..

I _killed_ him, sadly.

I _killed_ the _Curator_!"

Natalie took a few steps back not realizing that she had been holding onto Yugi's arm. Everyone's face went uneasy and some had concerned written on them at the professor's behavior. Granpa Mutou had asked him what was wrong but that didn't make anything better. The professor began to chuckle loudly. His head twitched and flopped to the side as he talked, "Nothing is wrong..." His footing was all wrong as he tried to walk over to them. It's like he couldn't control the movement of his arms as one of them dangled to the side and the other was brought up to his chest, "I've been waiting... Waiting for Yugi-kun!"

Natalie gasped as she pulled Yugi behind her though the professor wasn't going for the small boy. Her eyes widened as the crazy man gripped his hands around Jounouchi's neck. Jounouchi had not expect the attack and his heart raced at the lack of oxygen. He tugged on the man's arms trying to pry him off but it wasn't working.

Yugi ran passed Natalie and tried to help free Jounouchi away from this possessed man. The professor craned his head creepily over to face Yugi, "I want to meet the other Yugi." He had said which made Yugi paused at his words as his brain traveled back to the one person who referred to _"his other self"_.

Shadi had appeared behind Natalie who hadn't moved. Yugi was the only one among his group who had noticed the Egyptian man.

"Please excuse the impoliteness of my puppet." Shadi spoke as the professor squeezed Jounouchi's neck much harder. Yugi glared at Shadi, "What have you done to him?" And his eyes went to Natalie, "Idol, get away from him!"

"If my theory is correct, I will soon meet him." Shadi said as Natalie grabbed his arm, "You're going to kill Jounouchi if you keep this up." She told him threateningly. He didn't budge but his eyes went to hers, "If your boy obeys me, then I will let his friend go." Natalie let go of Shadi with a growl as her eyes scanned to find a way to free Jounouchi. She rushed over behind the professor and slung her arm over his neck hoping to get him to sleep before the worse happens. Though, nothing was happening. Shadi had made this man like a statue. Natalie then thought of something, "Anzu!" She called out, "The globe!"

Anzu looked at the direction her friend was looking at and understood completely. Natalie had let go of the professor and got out of the way. Anzu raised the globe above her head and swung it against the professor's head like a baseball bat while shouting, "Please forgive me!"

A few teeth had flied out as the professor was knocked back. Jounouchi hunched over breathing in all the air he could breath. Shadi glared over at Natalie and raised his finger to make a "tsk, tsk, tsk" motion. With that he had disappeared and left them with the zombified professor who had recovered quickly. The professor stared at her and limped her way. Natalie's hairs on her body stood as she scurried away, "Z-zombie!"

Jounouchi shared her facial expression, "I don't believe it!"

The group were conflicted as to run away or try and knock some sense into the professor. Mr. Mutou went ahead and did the latter. He stood in front of the professor and try to talk through his old friend, "What's wrong with you? Don't you know who I am?"

Jounouchi shouted from the side, "Gramps! It's useless!"

The zombie had paused for the moment and watched Yugi's grandfather who was reminding him that they were friends. Natalie's eyes had widened, "Mr. Mutou! Watch out!"

Though it was too late. The professor had knocked him out with an awkward punch. The force was still strong enough to have Yugi's grandfather knocked back against the book shelf. Yugi made a run towards his grandfather and Natalie notice the professor charging at him. She shook her head and ran towards them, "Not today!"

Natalie wrapped her arms around Yugi and not so surprisingly was able to carry his weight for the while and she added this to her weight to throw herself against the door. This caused the door to break open and she had fallen onto her back with Yugi on top of her. Ignoring the pain she pulled him up, "Come on we got to get you away from danger!"

"Idol! Wait!" He resisted, "We have to help Grandpa!" He couldn't just leave him behind. His gramps had just got knocked out. He had to go back and help him. Though, Natalie tucked on his arm, "Yugi, that man is after you and I can't let you go back there!"

It didn't matter if he had a gun pointed to his head, his grandfather was injured, Jounouchi is fighting a possessed man, and Anzu was still back there. He shook his head, "Idol, I'm sorry I can't."

Natalie gritted her teeth and didn't let go of him. She could feel her arms starting to shake and her eyes stung. He noticed this and narrowed his eyes in concern, "Idol?" She looked frightened and his heart ached. He was torn now. He had to go back but now all he wanted to do was hold her. Without thinking his other hand went to brush a tear away from her cheek, "Idol, I'll come back to you." She didn't realize that she was crying. She looked at him and almost saw his eye color lead towards a redder shade. This only made her chest constrict even more, "Yugi-Sennen..." She leaned her face closer to him, "I'm so sorry."

"Idol, you don't have to apologize." He had forced a smile for her not bothering at the nickname she had given him. If he calmed her down quick enough, he will still have time to go check on his grandfather. She placed her hand over his that was still on her cheek, "No, this is an apology in advance."

His eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, "What do you mean?" Then suddenly all the air had been blown away from him. His eyes widen as he felt the pain travel from his gut to his lungs. Natalie's fist had dug into his diaphragm. His body fought for air and made itself faint to conserve whatever oxygen was left in him. Yugi's body had fallen in front of her. Natalie got most of his body weight and leaned him against the hallway wall.

"WHAT. THE-" A voice shouted. Natalie registered it as Anzu's, "IDOL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"

Natalie ignored her and quickly snatched the puzzle before the other one decided to take over. She could hear Anzu approaching her and Jounouchi's voice shouting at her as well. Natalie did not waste time, however, so she did what any person would do in that situation. Run away. It was like everything happened so fast. Her pupils had dilated, her heart pounded in her ears which made every other sound around her blurred in the background, and her legs flexed to give her that speed. She had no idea where she was running to. She felt like a scared animal running blindly like if she was being hunted. Shadi had saw the whole thing and frowned. He had no idea why in the world she had done that. It wasn't part of the plan but when he saw her took the puzzle, he then knew what her agenda was. His apprentice was double-crossing him. Fortunately, he had made the millennium key point her in his direction without her knowledge.

"Foolish girl." He spoke waiting for her on the roof.

Natalie had no idea how long she had been running but she felt like she was almost to the exit. She was running out of breath. A relieved smile broke out when she saw the door. She didn't care anymore. She threw her body weight to push the door open to keep her speed up. She smelled the outside air and grinned, "Almost clear." She muttered breathlessly. Her hands gripped onto the puzzle and the item heated at her touch almost as if she was holding a hot iron. It began to hurt her hands. Hissing at the pain she had dropped and tripped over it. Her chin had landed on her arm which made her bit her lip. Her eyes scrunched up at the pain of her teeth grazing her bottom lip. She heaved herself from the ground tasting the iron on her tongue and crawled over to the puzzle. As she touched the puzzle, a light had blinded her. And she was no longer outside.

Her eyes blinked and adjusted to its surroundings. The air around her was now freezing cold almost hostile like. She looked around and it was pitch-black, no longer the maze room she was used to.

"I know you're there." She called out but all she heard was a hiss-like sound. It reminded her of a shadow creature stalking their prey.

"Show yourself!" She called out again and this time she felt a force push her body back. Losing her patience she growled at him, "I did what was necessary!"

She felt another invisible force push her from behind this time. It was like she was arguing with an extremely aggressive poltergeist.

"Spirit!"

A growl came at her side and she flinched back raising her fists. Her body stumbled back from another force push and she completely had it up to heaven knows where, _"Enough, Yami Yugi!"_

He then appeared right in front of her face, _"Enough?!"_

She flinched at him, not expecting him to appear like that. His crimson eyes flashed ever so slightly and his jaw had been clenched. It was as if he was holding himself back. She knew he was angry but she didn't have time to explain to him. Before she could do anything else, another invisible force had lifted her body and pinned her to an invisible wall. Her arms were either side of her and she couldn't move them or anything for that matter. It was as if gravity was pushing against her. He got in her face and repeated, "Enough!?"

"Shut up and listen to me!"

"How could you, Idol!" Of course he ignored her, "If that's even your name, _Natalie_ or should I call you _Sachmis_?"

Her body shivered when he called her by the last one. She figured Shadi would've ended up telling him or the spirit would investigate it himself. After all she wasn't stupid, she knew the puzzle was present when she sent out that judgement against the curator. He shook his head at her still in shock at what she had done, "So, this is what you meant when you said that you'd either be a friend or an enemy when we first met!" He growled at her.

She shut her eyes and took it cause she knew she deserved every bit of it but she tried anyways to get through him, "Please, let me explain-"

"Don't try!" He snarled as both of his hands went on either side of her head, this made her flinch again and now very uncomfortable at how close he is to her, "You struck _me_! You hurt _me_, Natalie!"

At this point her fists had balled up and she fought the resistance of what was holding her back. "That was all you wanted?" He continued, "For me to trust you so that you can catch me off guard?" His voice began to alter and there was a hint of sorrow in his tone, "All you wanted was my millennium puzzle! You were working for _him_!" He had known this theory when Shadi was searching for his room but he really didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe he had fallen for it. This girl had sneaked her way in and betrayed him. How can he be so stupid? He felt so low. Insulted actually. After all what they've been through and she goes right ahead into back stabbing him.

Finally she had freed herself, irritated to the point of no return, she shoved him back, "You think I'm working for _Shadi_? I am trying to help you!" She yelled at him, "Scratch that, I've been helping you! I hurt my dear friend, Yugi, to save _you_!"

"No!" He grabbed her shoulders and she didn't realize how tall he is in this realm, "You are exactly what that man labelled you." He hissed, "You are a liar and a thief!"

"Sennen-"

"Don't call me that!"

"Fine!" She was so close to pulling her own hair out of frustration, "But right now I don't have time to explain everything! Shadi is coming to take you away and I need to get far away from him!"

He stepped away from her and crossed his arms, "Oh, really?" He chuckled darkly, "Then let him come."

"You're insane! Can't you see I'm trying to help you!"

He gave her the ugliest and the most frightening glare, almost as if he were looking down into her very soul. She felt it, too. She felt as if a god were judging her. She couldn't explain it. Her knees wanted to give out and bend for him. She could feel herself resisting it as well. She could see that there was nothing that was going to change his mind. He no longer saw her as a friend.

"That's not true, Natalie." His low baritone voice echoed through her, "We..." He paused and she could see something different in his eyes. Her eyes had narrowed as she felt Yugi's presence around them, "_I_ don't need you." There wasn't an invisible force that pushed her back but she could feel her heart break at his statement. It was as if she was hearing both of them. Though, in reality the person in front of her was speaking for both himself and his other. She could almost feel herself cry again but stopped herself everything around her ripped apart. Her body felt like it was being pulled out of there and then next thing she saw was Shadi dragging her body away from Yugi.

She gasped, completely baffled as to how she got onto the rooftop and how long Yugi had been around. Where were Anzu and Jounouchi? Natalie couldn't still get over the fact that she was on the damn rooftop! She swore she had left the building. Unless...

"Shadi." She growled at him and he was not amused. "Are you quite done having a domestic?" This made her roughly shove him off and stepped away from him.

"I should be very angry at you but at the moment I am quite pleased now that you draw the other Yugi out." Shadi explained monotonously. Natalie whipped her head in Yugi's direction and she saw the very pissed off spirit right in front of them. Though, he wasn't looking at her. He was glaring at Shadi.

"At last, I meet the other Yugi." Shadi smirked, "Now thanks to my apprentice, who tried to double-cross me by running away with the millennium puzzle, the only thing she did right was to get your attention."

Natalie gritted her teeth, the very thing she wanted to avoid is now happening. She was at a loss. Shadi has control of the game board now.

"I wish to finish what we started earlier." Shadi proclaimed.

The dark spirit stayed quiet and Natalie knew he wasn't going to back out. "I invaded your mind room and was not only humiliated, but never learned of your power." Shadi walked to the side of them, "But now I will see it in the safety of reality." He looked over to her, "You are no longer in possession of this." He took the millennium scale away from her, "And you are now a part of this game."

Natalie scoffed and crossed her arms.

"I accept your challenge, Shadi!" Yugi's other self had called out and this made Shadi grin, "Excellent." The dark spirit's upper lip curled. The two individuals in front of him want his millennium puzzle, most likely for the same reasons and he was not going to let that happen. As far as he's concerned they are both his enemy.

Suddenly, the environment had changed around them. Natalie noticed that Shadi had distanced himself from her and from the other Yugi. She felt the ground shake before her. At this point she didn't know what was real or what was fake. And at this point her brain didn't care to rationalize as her body gave her a surge of adrenaline knowing that she was in danger. Her eyes widen in horror as the roof began to collapse. The ground under her feet appeared to be a wooden plank and around her was nothing but a black pit. She didn't know how far she was from the pit and she most certainly did not want to find out. Natalie did everything in her power to not move a damn muscle. The rest of the ground disappeared a good circumference around her and the other Yugi. That way they can't jump to safety. She looked over to him to see that he was on the other side of the "plank" of wood. In the middle of the plank was the rest of the roof, balancing them both like a scale. She swallowed the lump of her throat. This is it. This is how she and Yugi were going to die because of her stupidity. A rope suddenly appeared and tied itself around her waist. Four tiny weighted ushabti statues were tied against her. The other side of the rope was the same thing. In the middle, was another statue tied around the main rope. And below that was the millennium key that hung down from it. Natalie's shoulders slumped, "Don't tell me you're going to make us play a game of tug of war?"

"No," Shadi replied, "This game is called the weighing of the mind."

"What kind of game is that!" She shouted in anger with a hint of fear. If they were put against each other, then that would mean she had to battle Yugi.

"Both of you will determine the other's fate but warning..." His narrowed eyes went to the dark spirit, knowing that he is willing to end the girl's fate because of her insolence, "Shall you purposely go against each other then I will automatically win over the millennium puzzle."

Both of the teenagers eyes widen at the statement. For the moment, Natalie sighed in content knowing that she won't have to force herself to harm the boy... Again. The spirit of the millennium puzzle continued to stare at Shadi in curiosity as to where this game is heading. Shadi then continued, "Seeing as both of you have some sort of quarrel against each other as to determine who gets to keep the millennium puzzle. I know not of your relationship nor do I care. At this moment you will settle your differences later and face me. Now, before I explain the rules, I would like to say something to you." He referred to the other Yugi, "Actually to the both of you, since you are so involved with taking matters into your own hands."

That last comment was directed at her and she rolled her eyes at him, "Concerning the millennium puzzle, I do not know how or why it came into your possession and I have no idea why after five thousand years, you were the one to solve it. You might think of it as a coincidence... But it was not. The millennium puzzle chose you!"

Natalie looked at the boy in front of her in confusion. Impossible. Sure Yugi had solved it but that's just the thing, he's not involved in what she had seen that night in the museum! There is something very ancient in that labyrinth and she was determined to get it and find out the truth in all this. Her golden eyes observed the dark spirit before her. His expression was no longer furious but more of a shocked and there was curiosity in his eyes. Like all this was news to him. Can it really be that he does not know of what the millennium puzzle holds?

"I, and my family, like I told Natalie before when I rescued her from the tomb, we are those chosen to use the power of the millennium items." Shadi looked over to her, still clearly upset with her. Natalie already had a huge list of everyone she had pissed off tonight.

"Then, leave me out of your little group!" The other Yugi shouted at them. Natalie felt a bit offended at the implication that she is still part of Shadi's club, "I don't want to hear about this! Explain the rules!" He ordered.

Natalie's ear twitched at the sound of something cracking. At first she thought they were her ears at the sound of the dark one's commanding tone but it sounded like they were coming from... Her waist?

"Yugi," Shadi chuckled, "You are frightened."

The other Yugi was taken aback at his statement, "What makes you think that!?"

"You are frightened by the power hiding somewhere in your mind!" Shadi explained, "The unknown power of the millennium puzzle!" He pointed at Natalie, "Look over at her."

She felt eyes on her and she now understood where that cracking noise was coming from. One of the statues on her had shattered completely, making the rope around her loosened a little bit and the wood board underneath her shifted slightly. Her heart began to race at what was happening. These things were the only thing keeping her balance and preventing her side of tipping her off. These things were Yami Yugi's feelings. Yes. She is positive that she is going to die. On the other side, one of his made a creaky sound. She heard him call out her name. Her eyes met with his crimson ones for the first time out here. She almost saw a hint of worry. For her? She couldn't tell since he broke contact and went back to glare at Shadi.

"In case you two hadn't noticed, the game has begun." Shadi stated, "both of you are standing on the bridge of life. It is balanced by the weights of the four statues on you. Those statues will reveal the state of your mind and like I said earlier... The state of your mind will determine the other's fate."

Natalie's eyes widen and she could feel her stomach drop in fear. They're both utterly fucked. She looked over to other Yugi and he wore the same expression as she did.

"Each time any of you show weakness one of the ushabti will reflect it by breaking!"

Natalie closed her eyes trying to think of anything not having to do with "falling" or "death". Though, every time she closed her eyes, she sees a different world. The world of Ancient Egypt haunting her very soul. The dead king that she saw in that cold tomb that reeked of death is out to get her. Because she had failed him five thousand years ago and this was her punishment. No. She can't go back there. She doesn't want anything to do with this. Why can't she just disappear-

"NATALIE!" The voice of Yami Yugi roared to get her attention, "Natalie, look at me!"

Her eyes snapped open as she felt the board shift, "Oh.. Shit." She muttered and looked over to the dark spirit who just had one of his statues cracked open.

"As I was saying..." Shadi's voice directed their attention again, "Should both of you win, the ushabti in the middle is tied with the key and hangs off of your ropes. That statue for my mind is holding the millennium key. if the statue breaks, then the key will drop onto the bridge, restoring it's balance."

So, the objective of the game is not to have a weak mind? Natalie's finger placed itself upon her pursed lips, something she often did when she goes deep into thought. The statues are what keeping both of them stable onto this board. Should all of them crack open, one will loose their balance and fall off. How was she going crack Shadi's statue? She could tell that the spirit of the millennium puzzle was thinking the same thing and trying to figure out a way out of this as well. Though, if it was necessary that both of them have to win, how were they going to work together? Shadi is using the issues of their relationship to his advantage. Natalie pushed thoughts of guilt away from her mind and maintained her focus on the goal. Anymore fuck ups and she might just accidentally kill her friend.

The other Yugi's narrowed eyes went from Shadi to Natalie. Her golden eyes met his again and he felt some sort of heartache and guilt. He banished those feelings like if they were some kind of disease. If Shadi wanted to test and weigh his heart against Natalie's, then he can't let his feelings for her get in the way.

"Let the games begin!"

The shadows came to surround the two and it made the bottomless pit underneath them look like the gateway to the underworld. A foul smell filled her nostrils and she could see movement from the shadows below them. Natalie prepared herself for what's to come, "I've a bad feeling about this."

Suddenly, multiple hands shot out from below and grabbed onto her ankles, her shins, and her thigh. She could see them grab onto the board before her, making it wobble a little, as they heave themselves from the sea of death. They were crawling towards her and she had no idea what to do. All the rotten corpse's hands were on her and she suppressed a scream. THEY WERE FUCKING MUMMIFIED ZOMBIES CRAWLING ALL OVER HER. How was she supposed to keep her sanity now!? To make matters worse, they were adding weight on her side of the fucking bridge!

"Natalie!"

She heard him call to her and she looked over to see that his side was completely empty. Why isn't he receiving the same treatment?!

Though, the statues around his waist were beginning to crack as he stood there unable to do nothing for her but just watched as the dead throw themselves onto her.

"Yugi!" Shadi caught his attention, "Now as Natalie decides your fate, riddle me this, _'I crawl from the earth and cling to a pillar!'_ What am I?"

He cursed under his breath replaying the riddle in his head over and over again. The board then wobbled violently and he knew he was running out of time for the both of them! What could it be!?

Natalie moved her face away from the hands that tried to grab her face or neck. She wanted to vomit from the stench. She was starting to see nothing but them. They were all around her. They were waiting for her death to consume whatever was left of her soul. And they were now breathing down her neck. No, no, no, no! She closed her eyes as she felt a flashback come back to her during the time she was with Royaru in the nameless pharaoh's tomb. Her chest began to constrict and she began to quiver in fear. The statue around Yugi's waist had chipped off a piece and he knew he was running out of time, "Natalie, hold on!" He called out to her but he could tell from the look in her eyes that she was reaching her limit. He had to quickly solve this riddle before she gets consumed in her own fear. He closed his eyes trying to concentrate. _It crawls out of the earth and clings to a pillar..._

Natalie felt that she was no longer there anymore and was now in the nameless pharaoh's tomb waiting to accept death. Her eyes were distant and she had stopped moving accepting the corpse's embrace. She could feel her face being caressed as she sensed the same ghostly presence as the one in that tomb. _"It's not our time, yet."_

"What?" She asked breathlessly.

"It's not our time, yet!" Yami Yugi's voice boomed bringing her back to reality, "The crawling things are the corpses and the pillar is Natalie! Therefore, the true form of her illusion is **her shadow**!"

And with that the zombies began to fade and disappear all around her. The board was back to balance and Natalie was able to catch her own breath again. Her knees gave out and she allowed herself show this kind of vulnerability at the moment. Her anger had come back when she heard the sound of Shadi's laughter.

"Looks like both of you cleared the first stage," He had a smug look on his face, "Bear in mind that this next game will make what Natalie just went through look like a children's tale. How long till both of you break?"

"You're sick." Natalie had told him as she stood back up. She remembered a time when Shadi had gone a bit hard on her through her training but this is something she had never seen before. There was sort of rumble underneath her board. She sighed tiredly, she doesn't think she's ready for another horror game. She looked over to the other Yugi, who shot her a look of concern. She nodded at him signifying that she's fine... For now. The sound of rumbling never left but only got louder. It almost sounded like footprints. He looked towards the ground and gasped as he saw two large eyes looking back at him, "W-what is this?" He questioned out loud. Whatever it was down there, it was coming for him. He couldn't run away from it. There was nowhere to run or hide to begin with! Two clawed paws shot out to grab each of his arms. The claws had dug pass his jacket and into his skin, drawing blood as it gripped each of them. The dark spirit gritted his teeth at the pain and looked back at the figure rising up from the shadows behind him. His eyes widen at the sight of its enormous jaws that drooled all over him.

Natalie stared at the demon that took a hold of him in shock, "N-no way!"

"Yugi, you are not allowed to run away." Shadi spoke up, "It is now you who are caught in the second game and to decide Natalie's fate."

She growled at his statement, "Of course you would use her on me!"

Yugi stared at her in shock, "You know this monster?"

"Natalie, you are to play the shadow game: Deadly Shinkei Suijaku!" Shadi told her, "There is only one way to save your dear friend Yugi from Ammit's crucifixion and that is to win this second game!"

She glared at the demon above Yugi and she took a step forward towards them, "Ammit!" She bellowed out, "Release him at once!"

The demon's eyes shifted to her and it chuckled, "Sachmis, you can no longer command me for you do not possess the millennium scale!"

"Natalie, you know already what will happen if you fail to complete this next game." Shadi reminded her, "Even though Ammit had gorged on the soul of the museum's superintendent, it is still hungry."

Yugi's dark self looked up at the demon in shock. This is how Natalie played her shadow games? Through this demon? This is how she killed the Curator Kanekuro! Natalie crossed her arms as she waited. It was strange to see Yugi's dark alter ego have a face of a frightened child. Her statue had been chipping away pieces ever since Ammit had made her appearance. The spirit almost looked like Yugi. Regardless, if she lost a statue, she had to get that demon away from him. Something had cast in front of her and she was now faced with nine slates hovering before her with question marks on each of them.

"Now allow me to explain the rules," Shadi began, "You turn over the cards one at a time, trying to find their matching pairs. Inscribed on the underside of these slates are different patterns, which can be paired."

She looked at him perplexed, "Pairs? But there's nine of them! There will be one left over no matter what I do!"

"That is correct." He smirked at her, "Only the center slate would remain. If you can solve this puzzle and guess what is inscribed on the center slate, Ammit will then release Yugi."

Natalie nodded and looked over to the slates.

"One more thing... You are not allowed to turn any of the slates over!"

"What!?" Yugi exclaimed fearing for his death and Natalie had a look of annoyance, "Didn't you just tell me that I can turn over the cards one at a time?"

"Yes, and now I'm telling you not to." Shadi retorted, "You have five minutes by the way to figure out which is drawn on the center slate."

She scoffed at him, "Dick." She looked back at the slates before her, trying to ignore the sounds of the statues cracking around her. This shit in front of her could be anything! How in the hell was she going to solve this? There was no way... No! She can't let her mind slip because of this. The crack sounds had intensified and that didn't make her feel any better.

[Meanwhile...Jounouchi and Anzu had been running away from Professor Zombie]

Jounouchi had taken the lead and Anzu was right behind him, scared out of her mind that a freaky man with barely any teeth to save his life were out to get them. Jounouchi had stopped abruptly which made Anzu run straight into his back. After recovering she gave him an annoyed look, "Thanks a lot genius! WE REACHED A DEAD END!"

"It's not my fault!"

"If we had went to the other direction like I said few hallways back, then we wouldn't be in this predicament, Katsuya!"

They glared at each other till they heard the man's groans approach them. Anzu squeaked in fright and hid behind Jounouch, "He's all yours!"

Jounouchi growled and a dosage of "heroism" pumped in his veins, "All right! Stop it right there!" He pointed to the zombie, who surprisingly understood him and paused staring at Jounouchi in confusion.

"I get it now!" Jounouchi shouted, "I'm a man! I won't run away!" He turned to Anzu, "I'm going to drag him into a classroom and I need you to run, find Yugi, get gramps, and get out!" Anzu just stared at him in shock cause it was rare to see him in this kind of light. Jounouchi then grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall and lured the professor away. Anzu was still frozen in her spot till Jounouchi shouted for her to run. Without any second thought, she did to search for Yugi.

"TWO MINUTES LEFT!"

"Fuck." Natalie clenched her teeth. At this point her and Yugi aren't going to make it.

"Sachmis." A voice had called out to her and Natalie glared at the chimeric beast, "What do you want!"

Ammit's tongue trailed across the top row of it's teeth, "Just think of my reflection, Sachmis." It chuckled sending a squeeze to Yugi's arms which caused him to groan at the sudden pain. This caused a statue to break from her waist and the sudden shift made her fall back.

"Natalie!"

She tried to regain her balance, steadying her feet onto the wobbly board, "Yugi-Sennen!"

"One minute, Natalie." Shadi reminded her. And Natalie began to panic. Reflection? What does that mean? Center piece, reflecting image- Image! Natalie bit her lip not caring how swollen it was from earlier. A reflection of oneself... One would look at a mirror! Her eyes darted to the slates. This whole thing is a mirror! Ignoring the colored slate in the middle, she counted four pairs of images onto the board. If this was a mirror reflecting Ammit's face-

"Thirty seconds!"

"The ugly hag's face! Of course!" Natalie face palmed herself, "If the pairs are the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, and the hands... Then the one thing is-"

"Five seconds!"

"The one thing is her mouth! Its the mouth!" Natalie answered finally regaining her balance onto the board as the slates revealed the answers. Ammit had let go of the boy and smirked, "Well done, Sek." And with that she had vanished. The other Yugi had held his arms as if he was hugging himself. There wasn't a tear on his jacket and he wasn't bleeding. He couldn't believe that they had won that. He looked over to Natalie who had smiled. She was happy to see that no harm had come to him after all. He turned his cheek away not ready to see her... Or rather he didn't want to forgive her yet despite the fact that she had saved them both.

"Well..." Shadi's voice had caught their attention once again, "Both of you have reached the final game. Prepare yourselves for it makes the others look easy by comparison."

Natalie's shoulders slumped again, "That's what he said the last time." So far she had two statues left and Yugi still had his three-ish. Shadi had taken note of this and had assured them that this next one will guarantee that all their statues will break.

Yami Yugi glared wiping some of the sweat off his forehead, _"He sounds pretty sure of himself. As if he can see our weak points. But no matter what he has in store, Natalie and I cannot lose!"_

Shadi then smirked, "And now I will change the rules, there can only be one winner."

Silence had loomed over all of them. Natalie eyes had widened out of shock and fear. Her eyes never left Shadi's, too frightened to look at the pair of crimson ones. On the other side, the boy had looked at her with an impassive look. He didn't know what to think of this. The past two games they had to rely on each other and now they were going to have to defeat each other. Natalie didn't think she could go through with this. Not due to the fact that the boy would mostly shake the board out of anger at what she had done but the fact that she wouldn't want to fight back.

"Now both of you meet at the middle." Shadi ordered, "Do not worry the board won't shift." And so they walked. Natalie begrudgingly had forced herself to walk despite the board being shifted not in her favor. The fact that she has two statues now isn't helping her. She had finally met his eyes and there was nothing. No anger, no hurt, no joy. This made her heart sunk. She'd rather feel hated than feel humanity's dangerous emotion. Nothing. Apathetic.

As they both stood a good two to three feet from each other, since Shadi's statue is in the middle, the other Yugi had taken note of the fear in her eyes.

"Frightened?" His deep tone of voice had caused her to shiver. Her golden eyes then glared into his, "I'm not afraid to die."

"Yugi." Shadi called out making both of them look at him, "I am giving you this opportunity to give you a chance for retaliation for what my ex-apprentice has done."

The dark spirit looked over to her, "An eye for an eye?" His baritone voice had spoken. Natalie extended her arms as if she were inviting him.

"Here I am, Yugi-Sennen." She told him, "This is what you have been waiting for?" His eyes had narrowed at her actions as she continued, "I see now that your honor more than the life of your friend."

He sneered, "Don't lecture me, Natalie, you don't practice what you preach either!"

"I am facing you with humiliation, Yami Yugi!" She yelled at him, "All I ask of you is for your forgiveness! That is the difference between you and me! And Shadi has shown me your weakness to beat you at this game!"

Chuckling darkly and his crimson eyes flashed at her, "Is that so?"

"Yes." She said through her teeth as tears threatened, "If it weren't for you possessing the body of my friend, I would have defeated you a long time ago."

"Don't act as if you bear feelings for me!"

"_Yugi_ is my friend and I will do _anything_ to save him because I care about him and I..." She paused and she sought for forgiveness, "I care deeply about you too, spirit of the sennen puzzle."

There was a sudden shift within himself. His crimson eyes had lighten back to those soft amethyst ones. He could feel his other self reaching out to accept for her forgiveness, he felt the warmth spread back into his heart, and all he wanted was to hold her. His fists had balled at his sides. Suddenly, the other statue snapped and break open from her side leaving her with one statue left which was now beginning to crack open. This caused two other statues on his waist two break apart and crumble at his sides. With this the board wobbled to regain it's balance and Natalie had lost her footing. The only thing that kept her from falling to her death was the rope that was now being strained from her weight. The other Yugi was doing better than she was. For starters, his feet were still planted firmly onto the bridge. All he could do was watch her hang onto the rope. Her life was now in his hands. He hadn't realized but his body had been shaking and he didn't know if it was fear for himself or for her.

Shadi watched intently at the two playing it out. Curiosity danced through his eyes as he wondered what weakness did she figure out. Though, this was the challenge. Even if she did figure out the other Yugi's weakness it is she who will suffer for it and fall to her death. The millennium puzzle began to glow and the dark spirit gazed upon it in confusion as to why it's acting that way. Natalie had been climbing up and she reached for the board near Yugi's side. His eyes went back to hers, "What are you doing?"

"I know how to get out of this game and I know that even if you hear my excuse, you won't listen nor probably ever forgive me and I accept that." She spoke in a low tone, "I will show you through my actions that I will save you. That is what the millennium items are telling me to do and I am..." She gulped, "I am fine with that."

"Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?" He whispered clenching his teeth as he felt his heart strings being ripped, "Natalie, I can't forgive what you have done."

All she did was chuckle, "And that is your weakness. Your pride, Yami."

"And your faith in me is yours."

The sound of rock breaking apart had filled the air and Shadi's eyes widened. It was a tie? They both had figured out one's weakness at the same time! But how is that the bridge of life was still supporting the boy? What is going on to his game!?

The rope that held Natalie loosened and had fallen off from her waist. She cursed trying to reach for the board but there was no longer anything to support her for doing so. This was it. She was going to die! Suddenly, a hand reached out to grab her wrist.

"Idol!"

Her ears twitched at the sound of his voice and she gasped looking back up at him, "Yugi!?" He had shifted back to his darker self but he still had his grip, "Hold on, Natalie!"

"To what, exactly!"

"To me, you idiot!"

"I thought you want me dead!"

"Not through Shadi's penalty!"

"Oh, _that_ makes me feel so much better!"

Shadi stared at the two incredulously, "How are you guys still managing to make it through with this game!?"

The other Yugi ignored him and with one great effort, he had hauled her up. His back had fallen back onto the floor of the board and Natalie's body had been on top. Kind of the same situation before she had punched his gut earlier. He could feel her face buried against his chest as she had groaned in pain but she couldn't find the strength to lift herself off of him.

"Are you alright?"

She muffled in response and he felt her breath warming that part of his chest where her face was, "Natalie, I can't hear you."

"I landed on your millennium puzzle and now my sternum is crying."

He rolled his eyes and proceeded to sit up, this caused her to move away from him. The shadows were diminishing around them. The board was steady enough for them to stand without losing one's balance and Shadi's statue had altered, chipping away in the process. He was completely appalled! What in the name of the gods had happened and why are they still standing there as if nothing happened!?

"Explain yourself!" Shadi demanded and Natalie was offended, "Why is it always my fault?"

"You have lost! Both of you actually! You both learned one's weakness failed to overcome it and therefore your statues had broke apart!"

The other Yugi looked over at Shadi and then turned to show that his statue was still intact. Shadi gasped at the sight. Natalie's state of mind hadn't shown weakness? The other Yugi was just as confused but then he realized that it was Yugi's heart that played a major role in this. It made sense otherwise he didn't think he would have saved her to begin with, "Through, Natalie's defense she had believed in me to come to her rescue regardless that we are enemies."

Natalie's eye twitched at his statement, feeling like the damsel in distress in a traditional sense. Because at this very moment she is beyond distress! Shadi's statue had creaked as he replayed the events of the boy reaching out to save her.

"You still don't get it, do you?" The other Yugi spoke out, "To believe only in yourself is not the true path to strength. I'll give Natalie this credit. The power of trust between friends that is true strength!"

"W-what!"

And then the statue had broke apart. The millennium key had fallen onto the board and the illusion around them had faded. The roof and the building looked back to normal and Natalie was so happy to see...

"Land!" She collapsed enjoying the support of a stable rooftop, "I am never ever taking you for granted ever again!"

Suddenly, the fire exit from the building was pushed open and Anzu's scream filled everyone's ears. Natalie stared at the sight in shock. There the professor had groaned and chased after her like a zombie. His face and his clothes were drenched in the white chemical substance from the fire extinguisher. That wasn't the only thing that was frightening. The man had almost all of his teeth gone! Jounouchi had his arms wrapped around the Professor's waist holding him back but it was utterly impossible and that lead to him being dragged. All of them stopped to stare at the three who were on the rooftop first. Natalie was the first to break the silence and she grabbed the millennium key, "Hurry! Use this on the Professor! It'll bring him back!"

Jounouchi only glared at her, "I'm not touching that damn thing!"

"Jounouchi," The other Yugi spoke up monotonously, "It's alright." His blonde friend stared at him in disbelief and Natalie had expected this behavior. Who could blame him? Jounouchi allowed her to use the key to bring the professor back to his former self. Natalie had moved away from them feeling the hostility Yugi's friends now have on her.

As long as everything was back to normal but now that they had won she had unfinished business with the spirit of the millennium puzzle. Shadi had approached the two, "Both of you passed every test, I am utterly defeated." The other Yugi never stopped scowling at the Egyptian man, "Shadi, I think I finally understand the power of the millennium puzzle." He spoke holding up his pendant, "Even when separated my friends," referring more to those who had just joined them, "and Natalie," He glanced at her for the moment before going back to continue, "And I were working together. That is the power of the millennium puzzle! The power of unity!"

Natalie couldn't help but watch him with admiration. There was something in his voice that made him sound so superior. She felt it when he had confronted her and she can feel it now. What made it more powerful was that Jounouchi and Anzu stood behind him along with the professor who had no idea what is going on. She felt a little bit intimidated.

"Hey turban guy!" Jounouchi called out, "This is our territory!" His eyes landed on Natalie's and she felt a wave of shame, "Those who do harm amongst friends are not welcome."

"You're right." Natalie agreed and she threw Shadi back his key. Catching it gracefully, he takes his leave, "Despite my defeat, I am happy. Because my family has been searching for a very long time for people like you."

As he vanished the millennium puzzle glowed slightly and the realm around her had changed. She looked over to Yugi who was the only one who was moving, "In our minds, Natalie, time is travelling faster enough for us to finish what has happened." He explained to her, "I would like to thank you had you not kept your faith in Yugi then things would've ended differently."

"I didn't do it for you."

"Doesn't matter and now as for our contract in alliance, I do not need your help with the millennium puzzle."

"The millennium puzzle has information I need!" Natalie lashed out, "If I get that, then I won't ever bother you again. I'll carry on to finding the other items."

"Is that all you care about!?"

"It's what brought me here!" She ran a hand through her hair out of frustration, "You heard the Curator, there's nothing left for me but the millennium items. I never meant to be so cold and maybe my actions were stupid but I didn't want Shadi to manipulate and hold information from me like he did the millennium scale!"

He didn't budge. All he did was crossed his arms and watched her which just angered her even more, "What else do you want me to say? Don't you want to know why you're in that damn thing!"

"No." He answered so subtly.

She couldn't believe him, "Why the sudden attitude change? From the beginning you were so adamant about finding out!"

"That's because from the beginning I thought you were someone I could trust but you're just like the rest of them!" He retorted, "What would you do then, Natalie? Once you open that door what would you do?"

She stayed quiet, "I don't know." She really didn't. Although, she had received some information from where this Sachmis originated, she really did not know what she would do with it. She still had no idea what that name meant or what it had to do with all the millennium items. Was that all her life is worth? Hell, she didn't even know how long she will last here.

"For lying to me, I would have taken your ability to speak but since that will mortify my other self I have only one thing to say to you..." His voice had gone darker, "Don't ever speak to me or my other self ever again."

"What?"

She had stared at him disbelief and he continued, "I know Yugi is much more forgiving than I am but I am warning you to stay away from him no matter if he approaches you. If you do cherish his safety and well-being then stay away from _me_. You are who causes us harm, Natalie, remember that!"

Her gold eyes had darken to a dull color at his request. No, scratch that it was no request. It was a command that's been written in stone, "From this moment on, everyone will know the real you and what you did today."

"Fine." Her voice was low enough he almost couldn't hear it, "I am no longer your friend, Yami Yugi." And with that the realm around her was gone and Yugi's friends were back to normal. Yugi's grandfather had join the scene, "Oh? I follow the trail of the fire extinguisher liquid, is everyone alright?"

"Almost." Anzu commented on the professor's current state. Jounouchi kept a watchful eye on Natalie who begun to walk away from the group which pissed him off, "Hey! Aren't you going to explain yourself?"

"I knocked all the oxygen out of Yugi, what the hell do you want me to say?" She growled at him and Jounouchi sarcastically replied, "Uh, hello? Apologize!"

Natalie didn't say anything more and ran out of there while he continued shouting at her. It wasn't until she had reached her comfort zone that she was able to completely break down.

* * *

**AN:**

I am prepared to be crucified and tortured! Holy shit guys so like I wrote this right after I submitted the previous chapter and didn't realize I typed so much but it's okay! It felt so good and almost therapeutic! I'm so happy I took a break. Now I know what you're thinking...

"NIKKI, WHAT THE FUCK!"

Yes, this shit was inevitable. This is the main artery of this fanfic lol I went from overconfident writing to a "Oh god... oh no... What am I... What is this?! Originality!? Oh nooooo!" So right now I'm saying fuck it. If they hate it, they hate it. So, what happens now? Well... We play the waiting game ;D

Lauren, you're finally going to be in this story! And for real this time... Liek it's not a flashback this time lmfao

References:

Star Wars (yeah fuck me, right?)

Avenged Sevenfold

Elena Siegman

**Deleted Scene from previous chapter** :

She sat across Yugi munching away at her fries while dipping them at the special sauce she made (which was a combination of almost all the restaurant sauces that she could think about). Yugi didn't find it weird since he was too busy biting away at his burger to his heart's content. His cheeks puffed as he ate. Natalie tried not to snort out loud as she quietly enjoyed the view. He noticed her looking at him so when he swallowed he gave out a nervous chuckle. Natalie couldn't help but giggle at him and she pointed at the corner of her lips, "You got barbecue sauce on ya."

Blushing he reached for his napkin to wipe the wrong side that wasn't dirty which made Natalie go through another fit of giggles. She grabbed her napkin, "Let me help you out there." She leaned over to clean his lip and that only made him looked away in embarrassment when she was done.

"I'm sorry."

"It's totally fine."

His lips broke into a smile as he looked at hers. Despite how silly he is being, he is glad he could amuse her with his stupidity.

-End-

I wrote this when I was hungry and had forgotten it existed. Did I get my burger? No, I didn't -_-


	11. Chapter 11

**Brought to you by... I got nothing. **

**I own Yu-Gi-Oh!.. cards. Lots of 'em. For sale, too. Hit me up ;D**

**Chapter 11 - One Week**

* * *

Ever had that quick transition from one normal day to everyone flat out stopped talking to you in one swing in high school?

Natalie did. For one whole week, it hasn't stopped. The only difference is that a company became a huge crowd in a matter of seven days. And the more upperclassmen, the more attention she got.

As soon as she stepped foot in the school grounds it's like everyone stared at her in a different light. But it wasn't the bad kind of thing you would have probably expected. It was more corrupt than that. She went from mystery new girl to...

"Hey, I heard your name is really Natalie and you punched Yugi Mutou. That. Is. Awesome!"

"You're from California? Did that mean you lived in Hollywood?"

"I heard you escaped from prison and came over here, is that true?"

"Hey American beauty! You can knock me out anytime!"

"I never knew you could be such a bitch! ...Wanna hang out?"

Natalie had no idea how in the hell she made it all the way to her homeroom where it was only Mr. Haner writing something on the black board. Startled at her intrusion, he paused and watched as Natalie stomped all the way to her designated desk and stuffed her face into her backpack to let out a scream.

"It's been one week! How long will this last!?"

Mr. Haner had set down the chalk and chuckled, "At least you're in a better position I'm in."

She stared at him incredulously, "Did you lose all your friends in one night?"

"Hey," He shrugged his shoulders, "We all fuck up at one point in our lives." Natalie was one of the only students he knows that he was comfortable to talk around with. But that's because of how different they are from everyone else.

"Because I'm one of the youngest male teachers here, there's this lady who is probably," He paused and counted his fingers, "Ten to twenty years older than me who won't stop hitting on me and has been proposing marriage interviews with me." Sighing he continued, "She has faculty wrapped up around her finger. It's amusing but at the same time it's sad. She's trying to move in the classroom in front of mine!"

Natalie stared at him weirdly before she broke into a mock hurt one, "Oh, you poor poor thing." She walked over to him as she still kept her sarcastic attitude, "Must be tough to be the only heart-throb male teacher here."

"Alright, what happened to you that's making everyone talk?" He raised an eyebrow in amusement, "I heard you punched that little what's his face or did you choke him half to death and you are wanted for assault so you changed your name?"

She stared at him speechless, "People are sick! Why would I ever do such a thing!?"

He raised his hands, "Hey, you know how rumors work." And she rolled her eyes not wanting to talk about this anymore. Everything that the dark spirit had said that night had been made reality. Everyone knew her real first name, though they have not correlated her with the Natalie Larsen that has been assumed missing or dead. Otherwise, she would have a lot to answer for. It won't be long till they find out.

"Class is about to start, Natalie." Mr. Haner had said as he returned to the black board. She went back to her desk as the other students entered. Some had glared at her and the rest had greeted her. She liked those who had glared at her. At least there were still people that weren't such douche bags. She stared off into the distance as the lecture started, knowing that the boy she missed was right across her classroom. It still hurt her but she could no longer express it. Her eyes had cleared out their tear ducts. Though, reason why it hurt her was the fact that he had spent the past seven days coming to school early hoping to meet with her. Early enough so that people won't tease him when they see him hanging around her locker. Another reason why it's been hurting her were the occasional notes he had left for her. The other Yugi and her knew he would do something like that but she had to force herself to stay away.

At that moment, Yugi had been thinking about her. He couldn't help but feel guilty. Although, he could not remember some of things that had happened that night, he remembered all the cruel things he had said to her. He didn't know what had possessed him to say those words. Maybe Shadi was right. Maybe there was another him and that personality had driven her away. A droplet had landed on his notes below him. He let his head rest against his hand to cover his eyes for the moment to let this feeling pass. The worse part about it was that his friends wouldn't let her in as well. It was not their fault. But what could he do? There is no way he could tell them about his other self. Another fearful thought had passed through his head. What if he ended up driving his friends away as well?

_"Idol..."_ They both thought remembering the notes, _"Or I should say Natalie, I don't necessarily understand why you did what you did but I'm not mad. I know I've said things that night that say so otherwise and for that I am sorry. There are a lot of things to talk about concerning the millennium puzzle and I think you know what I mean. So, if you could please come to me, it doesn't have to be here at school, but come by at the Grandpa's game shop that way I could properly apologize in person."_

_"Natalie, please don't punish yourself for this. I can talk to Jounouchi and Anzu and they'll understand. Please, Nat, I forgive you and don't want to loose the friendship we have over this."_

_"I have something for you and I think he's better off in your hands. It's a digital pet. His name is Yu-2. Will you take care of him for me, Natalie?"_

And she did. Having that digital pet buzz at her from time to time was the only thing she had of him. It was the only thing for her to be close to him. Natalie had been on autopilot on the way home. Her mind was towards the little thing in front of her. She carried it with her almost all the time. Yu-2 had been eating his dinner and she stared at it funny.

"You sure do eat a lot."

It paused to stare up at her and buzzed. The corner of her lip tugged up to a half-smile, "Y'know you remind me more of the other one. The only difference is that you are surprisingly nice to me."

_-bzzz bzzz-_

"I've completely lost it. I'm talking to a little digi-pet." She had set it down and rubbed her eyes. It wasn't time for bed but she felt a little drowsy. Yu-2 on the other hand had yawned out loud and made a noise signalling that he was going to sleep. Natalie laid back on her bed and decided to let her eyes rest.

Later that evening...

Music blasted out from her headphones that hung around her neck. The music blared, not just for her, but for the whole world to hear. Her hips swayed as she continued her swag walk. Her arms waved around her to the beat. Then she began to sing not caring that she's drawing attention from everyone else around her.

"If I can't have you!" She sang in English but her accent says that she was clearly in the right place, "I don't want nobody, baby!" She perched onto the rails and perfectly balanced on them as she slid down, "If I can't have you~ Ah! Ah! Ah! Oh~"

Everyone around her seemed to be in awe at the sight. The business men who just got out of work shook their heads at what the younger generation has become with their walk-mans and video game technology. The younger kids who were out and about nodded their heads in admiration and wonder who she was.

"Do you think she some sort of pop-idol?"

"Don't know..?"

"She doesn't look so familiar."

"Maybe she's new."

The dancing girl didn't overhear the whispers around her as she was still in her trance. She carried on walking to her destination. Which was an apartment complex. In that apartment complex, was Natalie, who was sprawled across the floor. She had been stuffing her face with cantaloupe and everything around her was completely shut out. All she did was stare into some eternal void. Hell, she didn't even care about the person who just broke into her home and was now standing over her.

"Natalie." The person spoke and Natalie kept chewing, grabbing another piece and stuffing it into her mouth.

"Natalie." The person spoke again, "What are you doing?"

"Eating melon." She mumbled out.

"I can see that. But why?"

"I'm depressed."

The figure standing over her went ahead to sit down next to her, "Do you want to talk about it?" Before Natalie could even explain anything the person held up her hand, "Wait, hold on, I don't give a shit and this is my favorite part." They stood up, raised the volume to max, and began to sing again, "If you like pina coladas! And get caught in the rain!"

Natalie growled standing up to face her dancing friend, "If you like making love at midnight in the dunes of the cape!"

"Yume!" Natalie unplugged the headphone jack from the walk-man, "Why are you here?"

"To rescue you of course!" She spat back and folded her arms across her chest while pouting, "Now thanks a lot for killing my groove."

Natalie stared at her incredulously, "Rescue me? Dude, you're over a year late!"

This is Yume. Older than Natalie by two years and was as tall as five foot eight. Her hair jet black that trailed down to her knees. Unlike Natalie, she wears more than just eyeliner for her green eyes and her sense of fashion was up to date, even if she were handed a school uniform. As a matter of fact, she had adopted the Egyptian's style of make-up back when they were acting as archaeology students in Cairo, Egypt. Let's rewind back for a moment. Remember Seto Kaiba? Who doesn't. After Natalie had been disqualified from the tournament, she never exactly went back to the hunter society. Who would? After failing to cheat and stealing Seto's rarest blue eyes white dragon, of course you wouldn't go back to your boss. Yume had helped Natalie escaped and had got out of the country and for three years they were involved in a program there in Egypt covering their tracks from the hunters. Unfortunately, they had found Natalie and kidnapped her and other students from their dorms. Yume was nowhere to be found and they had left off on a bad note.

Yume was quiet for the moment before she broke out into a giddy smile, "Well, hooray! You're alive!" This caused Natalie to raise an eyebrow in suspicion, "Yeah, thanks for nothing."

"You wanted to know about my private life with Kaiba!"

"You could have just told me that you didn't want to talk about it, Yume!" Natale retorted remembering the argument they had back in Egypt, "You just stormed off and I never saw you again ever since!"

Her friend sighed and sat on Natalie's bed as if she owned it now, "It's fine, I'm over it anyways." Natalie wasn't going to press the issue any further either since she didn't want Yume to freak out on her again. Yume has some sort of bi-polar disorder.

"So, what brings you here in Domino City and what the hell are you wearing?" Yume asked as she took note on Natalie's pink uniform. That's when it clicked and she began to cackle, "Oh, no! Oh don't fucking tell me!"

Natalie sighed, "Yes, I'm back in high school."

"Why!?" Yume giggled, "You already have your GED!"

"I was here because of a certain millennium item... Actually there were three items involved." Natalie explained and this made Yume stop and stared at her in shock, "You're kidding."

Natalie shook her head, "Nope."

"So, where are they?" Yume stood up excitedly looking around, "Let's see it!"

"I don't have any of them."

"You... WHAT!" Natalie covered her ears forgetting that Yume can have a loud voice like Yugi's, "Unbelievable, Nazz, we could have been rich!"

Shrugging, Natalie replied, "Shoulda, coulda, woulda." In all honesty, Natalie did not care anymore (yes, she did). Well she only cared about one of the three. But that didn't mean she didn't care about the boy who had solved it and the stupid spirit.

"Well?" Yume asked.

"Well, what?"

"Tell me everything!"

Natalie chuckled, "Okay, let's start back when I arrived here..." Then she took it back, "Actually, let me tell you what happened with Royaru first."

In return, Yume had given Natalie information as to why Royaru had suspected Natalie of having some sort of knowledge with the shadow games. Yume had no idea why and thought it was ridiculous of Royaru to follow some prophecy about an ancient spirit returns to walk the earth again in search of her king and all the millennium items.

"Okay, let's say hypothetically that you are what they say you are... What is it that they called you again?" Yume asked.

"Sachmis."

"As in Sekhmet? Goddess of war and healing?" Yume shook her head, "Yeah, no, I'm calling you Sek."

Natalie rolled her eyes, "Not you, too."

"Look, Nazz, I don't know what kind of weed you've been smoking here but ancient Egyptian artifacts just don't hold spirits or demons! And no ghost pharaoh killed off Royaru! The tomb must have collapsed!"

"But it didn't!"

"How would you know!? You had fainted!"

Natalie had opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she had nothing to say. She had a point but Natalie was not crazy!

The silence broke when something rang. Natalie automatically went to check on Yu-2, who had woken up from the noise and had made a dookie. Yume had stared at her friend weirdly as Natalie cooed at the little device, "Um, is that some sort of beeper?"

"No, it's a digital pet." Natalie giggled as she gave Yu-2 the option to play his little instrument he had encountered in cyber space, "Yugi gave it to me."

"Puzzle boy?"

"Yeah!" Natalie wasn't really paying attention to her words, "Look, look, look he's playing a trumpet!" She shoved the device at Yume's face who had given the pet a baffled look.

"His name is Yu-2." Natalie introduced.

"U2? Why not call it Bono?" Yume asked pushing the thing away from her face.

"Not the band, you doof!"

Yume gave her friend a fearful expression. It was worse than she thought it was. Natalie has gone bonkers. She instantly regret leaving her at her dorm or took her to Egypt to begin with. All this nonsense of Ancient Egypt and dead pharaohs had made her friend look like an asylum reject. Yume had to get her friend out of here but first... She needed a drink.

"Okay, Nazz, put the toy away and get dressed."

The little sixteen year old tilted her head, "Why? Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

* * *

Yugi moved the analog stick with his left hand and tapped several buttons in a sequence with his other. He had defeated the final boss of this arcade game for probably like the fifth time that one session but he didn't seem to notice. It was like he was trying to find some sort of escape within each time he plays. Though, every time he played, his mind was elsewhere and his body worked on autopilot. It wasn't until Jounouchi had stopped him from paying another mindless round with the machine. Jounouchi had offered to buy him something from the snack bar and Yugi only shrugged picking a drink at default. The blonde had noticed Yugi's behavior changed ever since that night. He and Anzu had spend even more time with him but it didn't seemed to work. It did for the first three days but eventually Yugi seemed to withdraw himself. It was as if he had lost hope.

"Yugi." Jounouchi called. Yugi looked over to him in curiosity, "I just want to say that I am sorry."

The short boy's eyes brows had furrowed at his friend's apologetic statement, "What for, Jounouchi-kun?"

"About what had happened between you and Idol." This struck a chord in Yugi as he began to avoid eye contact, "I just want you to know that Anzu and I are really worried about you. We may not know what happened between you two but Yugi you got to let it go, man, she hurt you and it doesn't seem like she's coming back."

"Jounouchi, the reason why she's not talking to me is because I told her to."

"Then what's the problem?"

Yugi opened his mouth to say the words but nothing came out. His thoughts were all over the place and he was getting tired of crying. He just simply missed her. He missed having her over almost everyday. He missed playing with her.

"I don't know, Jounouchi, I just want her back."

Jounouchi frowned at this. When it came to Yugi's safety, Jounouchi will always be there to protect his best friend. But watching Idol hurt Yugi in that way made him feel defenseless and all he could do was be there for Yugi in the aftermath. It's been one week and nothing had changed. He couldn't think of anything else. The blonde let out a sigh, if this is what it takes to cheer Yugi up... Well, let's hope so.

"Okay, Yugi," Jounouchi stood up, "Let's go get Idol back."

Yugi shook his head. A small smile formed on his lips at his friend's behavior, "Jounouchi, I tried that and it hasn't worked."

"What do you mean?" Jounouchi gave him a perplexed look, "You already talked to her?"

"Um... Not necessarily." Yugi stared off to the side in nervousness, "I just sent her notes."

By hearing this, Jounouchi held his sides as he laughed out loud. This made Yugi blush in embarrassment even more. Suddenly, Yugi felt a tug on his arm, "Come on, Yug, man up! We are going to talk to her in person!"

Yugi was then dragged out of the arcade, "Jounouchi! We don't even know where she lives!"

* * *

"Yume, where the hell are we going?" Natalie had her hands behind her head as she balanced on an elevated brick wall. She wore her usual black harem pants. The only difference is that she's wearing open toe sandals and a loose fitting white tank top with a black sports bra underneath.

"Well if you were wearing something normal, we could have gone clubbing." Yume walked in annoyance, "Honestly, Nazz, we are not in Egypt anymore. It's gonna get a little chilly tonight."

"What's wrong with comfort?" Natalie frowned as she hopped from the wall and landed almost with grace in front of Yume, "Okay, bad idea with sandals."

The older one snorted, "Good job, genius, we are going to help out someone to get information." Yume walked around Natalie, who had been blocking her. Natalie followed, "What sort of information."

"Well Natalie, unlike you I happen to find very interesting rumors whenever I go out." She smirked, "So, all this adult stuff or whatever you call it isn't useless. You'd be quite surprised at the amount of information people spill when they're drunk."

"Okay." Natalie replied, "I'm listening."

"Well, rumor has it that Seto Kaiba has been planning something pretty huge." Yume began to explain, "Apparently, some little boy from your high school ripped Seto a new one and so he is seeking revenge."

Natalie stopped walking and her jaw clenched. Yume didn't notice and kept going, "Unfortunately, I did not find this out at a bar but! His little brother doesn't keep his mouth shut. All the grade schoolers know this."

Yume felt the collar of her shirt being pulled to the side, not bothering into asking why Yume is around school children, "What sort of revenge?" This annoyed and surprised Yume as she grabbed Natalie's wrist, "I don't know, Nazz, that is what we are going to find out by rescuing the kid from Domino."

There was an eerie silence before Natalie began to scream, "YUGI IS IN TROUBLE AND YOU DIDN'T FUCKING TELL ME!" With that she had sped off, leaving a pissed off Yume behind.

"You're going the wrong way, Nazz!" She yelled after her, "And how was I supposed to know since you left that info out!"

Still no reply.

"And who names their child after games!"

Nothing.

Yume groaned, "Dammit Larsen!" And ran after her.

After blindly running around for five minutes, Natalie decided to quit acting like a rabid wolverine and wait for Yume, who was right behind her. The younger girl felt a tug at her ear. Yume dragged her to the right place which surprisingly they weren't too far off, "Over here, little girl, is where the bad guys are."

Natalie stared up at the place while rubbing her ear a bit frazzled. She could smell cigarette smoke emitting out of the bar and inside see a bunch of pool tables and dart boards against the walls. Her expression changed into a glare and looked over to Yume who was eager to go inside, "You bitch, you lead me here just to drink didn't you? Yugi isn't even in there!"

"Don't be quick to judge, Nazz!" Yume smacked the back of her head, "I can see the spikey hair on that kid just by standing here." Then she tugged on Natalie's wrist, "Come on! We got to go get him!"

And they did. They stood in front of a little sixteen year old boy, with hair that spiked towards the front of his skull making it look almost like a mohawk. The bottom layer of his hair was black and the top layer was a dark forest green. His eyes were a bit squinty, his cheeks bore some sort of whisker marks, and he had bucked teeth. The boy almost reminded Natalie of a rat.

Natalie's head tilted over to Yume and gave her a sarcastic look.

"Well, I don't think no one has hurt him yet!" Yume giggled as she pat the very confused boy's head.

"Yume, that's not Yugi Mutou."

The boy moved his head away from Yume's hand, "She's right, my name is Nezumi." Natalie nodded to herself, _"That explains it."_

"And Yugi Mutou is my classmate but I can't say much here cause these guys will break me at the mention of his name."

Natalie hopped onto the chair next to him and leaned her face towards him. Watching him with narrowed eyes, "And what's a name of a high schooler gonna do to these grown men?"

None of this made any sense to her. Yume came here for information on Seto Kaiba thinking they had gotten Yugi already. But no, it's this kid named Nezumi who obviously knows something. Though, what's a boy like him doing here with these... Natalie looked over to the guys who had stopped playing pool and were watching them. She had recognized two of them from somewhere but where? Nezumi had began to whisper something in her ear, "They knew I was from Domino so they blackmailed me to hang around them to lure Yugi in one day but... They said I'll be set free if I bring them his girlfriend."

Natalie jumped away and noticed that the guys had already surrounded her. Her eyes darted everywhere to look for her friend. There she was downing two shots of whatever clear liquid and had her arm around two males. Natalie's eyes widened...

"Rintama boys?" Natalie had recognized two of them and then she glared at her friend, "You've been hanging out with the Rintama boys?"

"Rintama, Domino," Yume waved her off having another shot, "Cliques or teenage crowds, I really don't give a shit. I'm just using them to get information."

Natalie growled, "Yume!"

"What? Did I do something wrong?" Her friend asked innocently. All Natalie could do was glare as she was overpowered by a bunch of men who smelled bad and held her down. Yume began to choke on her drink and wobbled forward, "Yo! What gives!"

"The boss wants this one to himself for payback and then parade her around the other twerp!" One of the boys, who had his foot over Natalie's back, chuckled out loud. Natalie felt helpless, without any sort of millennium item she couldn't judge or bring down any mortal. She felt so... So...

"Useless!" Natalie growled as she bit onto the guy's leg and elbowed the nearest pair of testicles. She rolled out of the way and punched one of the men who charged at her. Dodging another guy just for him to hit the guy behind her. She neared and grabbed Nezumi by the collar and her drunk friend.

"Let go!" Nezumi struggled, "We are no match for them!"

"Shut up!" Natalie spat and stared at the entrance of the bar and then over to the boys who were already recovering and a few were coming in to help stop them. Natalie had counted five men down and three more coming.

"So, what's your plan?" Nezumi questioned, clearly not having faith in her. Yume leaned against Natalie and waved her finger around, "Whatever you're doing, I follow, Captain!"

Natalie sighed, "My plan of action is... RUN AWAY!"

And that's when they knocked her out.

Natalie's side of the head throbbed in pain as she heard voices in the background and one very close to her. To her right she could feel the warmth of a person's body followed by the sound of their voice calling out her name. Her eyes immediately snapped open as her memory of previous events came back to her. She noticed her wrists had been tied behind her back and she could smell Yume's perfume next to her being in the same predicament as she is... Oh, no...

"This is all your fault."

"Takes you back to the time where we got caught stealing a fake Mona Lisa painting."

"Yume! I am leaving you here!" Natalie growled as she tried to undo the rope. Two of the Rintama boys and the rest of group that were at the bar had taken notice that the two girls had awakened. The only person who was absent was the boy Nezumi. One of the Rintama boys had stepped forward with a grin. His appearance had been disfigured due to the electric burns from last time. The other boy had most of his skin covered but there was a clear scar that showed around his neck and collarbone. Natalie remembered their screams that night. Her stomach dropped at the thought of revenge. Both of them had grabbed her to pull her up and moved her away from Yume, who couldn't do much anyways.

"Hirutani-san has big plans for you, girl!" One of them with a blind eye had stated.

"Yeah! You and that boy of yours are gonna get it tonight!"

Natalie chuckled nervously in between them, "Come on, guys, how about we settle this like civilized civilians and play a game?"

The one on her left squeezed her arm, cutting off blood supply, and growled at her, "We are not falling for one of your damn games!" This made Natalie flinch and frown at them, "Fine... Nobody wants to play with me anyways."

"I do!"

"Yume doesn't count."

"Enough!" They pulled her towards a hook. She then remembered that was where they had tied Jounouchi up. Gulping, she thought that they were going to give her the same treatment... Or worse.

"So, what should we do for the time being?" Sparky, Natalie dubbed, had asked one-eyed willy, "Should we hang her up?"

"No, I've got a better idea." Will had gestured for the rest of the boys to near them and Natalie's eyes had widened as she tried to tear away at the rope, "Don't bang her up too much, boys."

"This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Hirutani-san and the weapons he gave us!" One of them claimed as they all brought out almost the same color of yo-yos. Yo-Yos. YO-YOS!

Natalie's jaw dropped for the moment as she blinked so many times to see if her eyes are deceiving her. Suddenly, all thoughts of sexual assault and possible rape had gone straight to the trash bin and she finally found her voice, "Are those fucking yo-yos?" She immediately regretted asking the question.

"That's right, girly! And your spikey-haired boyfriend won't pull a fast one on us this time!"

"Pull a fast- HA! HA! HA!" Natalie barked out in laughter with a mock tone, "What are you going to do? Make him do a yo-yo battle with you guys?" Natalie was almost to the point of tears as her abs began to hurt.

Yume just sat there unsure on what to do or think, "I don't understand what is going on. At all."

"I'll tell you!" Natalie shrugged her arm away from Sparky, "This is the most hysterical and stupidest thing I have ever seen!" The electric shock must have given them brain damage. As for the rest of them, they are completely stupid. Natalie felt so ashamed of herself for getting beat up by a gang who used yo-yos. She had been faced with other obstacles worse than this for crying out loud!

"Well, allow me to show you how it's done!" One of them growled as he threw the yo-yo at her direction. Natalie had moved her face out of the way to allow the stupid toy to hit her shoulder but the thing ended up ricocheting and curved to make contact with her cheek.

"Ow!" Natalie rubbed her cheek against her shoulder, "That actually hurt!"

"Now you see why!"

"It's still pretty damn stupid!" She barked out and that only lead her to get hit again in the eye, "Would you quit that!"

"Little girl! We are going to make you scream so that your boyfriend can hear you!"

Trying to recover the vision on her right eye by blinking multiple times, "No." she replied, "One, he ain't my boyfriend. Two, I don't know where he is. Three, there's no point in keeping me hostage, he ain't gonna come."

Then a yo-yo hit her face again.

"Really!?"

Multiple hits around her torso and the same spot on her face.

"I'm going to-!"

Head shot!

Natalie groaned at the dull pain that began to form around her head as she could feel a black eye forming. She felt something dark grow within her. Like the time where she had the millennium scale but this time it was something calling out to her. No, it was trying to grab her and forcefully pull her in. It almost felt like Ammit's dark power but much more. It was coming closer. Please, let her have it. Let it feed off of her hate. Then, she was snapped back to reality when she felt pain at her temple. Her body had collapsed and she bit her lip at the pain.

"You idiot!" They all had stopped, "You weren't supposed to knock her out!"

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Everyone shut up!" A moment of silence... "Someone is coming!"

They all scattered and left Natalie alone on the ground. She could hear Yume calling out to her in the distance and all Natalie could do was try to lift herself up. She stopped struggling and tucked her knees to her chest to let her arms go underneath her and over her legs. She felt the dark presence again closer this time. Her eyes had been shut due to the pain so she tried to see through her third eye. She shut off other senses to focus on that light that was coming toward her. Grinning she reached out for it, now that her tied wrists were in front of her. Now is time for payback!

"Natalie!"

She opened her eyes to see her hands around the millennium puzzle. Natalie groaned, "Oh, gods of any kind, anything but him!"

"Geez, woman, what happened to you!?" Jounouchi questioned.

She glared up at the two boys, "Something that I am not proud of!" She managed to sit up with the help of Yugi... Which reminds her...

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" She questioned the two. Then she realized where everyone else had gone. What did they do to Yume? And how did they find her?

"We are here to rescue you!" Jounouchi declared as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Yugi on the other hand was too busy wondering who had done this to her. He could feel his heart began to race and feel his anger probe at the back of his head. _"This isn't what I wanted..."_

Yugi held the back of his head trying to calm down his breathing. He closed his eyes for the moment but his thoughts raced back at him, _"Whoever did this... I won't forgive them."_ It was overwhelming for him.

Natalie was still confused by Jounouchi's statement. How did they find her in the first place? Her eyes set on the third boy who was a feet away from them. She clenched her jaw as she realized this was all a damn set up for Yume and her. And now Jounouchi and Yugi are dragged into this just for Hirutani's revenge. How could she be so stupid!?

"You!" She sneered at Nezumi. Though, it was too late to say anything as they were now surrounded by the boys who had been here to beat her with fucking yo-yos. Jounouchi stiffened and got in front of Natalie and Yugi in a protective manner. Natalie counted the same boys, if not more. They all brought out their yo-yos in a threatening manner and she was confident now that those things won't work this time. Now that Jounouchi is here and he's not tied up.

"Yugi, stay with Natalie!" Jounouchi ordered as the yo-yo gang surrounded them with the toys. If any of them moved they would've get hit by the toy. The boys laughed and walked near us intimidatingly. Jounouchi clenched his fists and held them in front of him as he got into a fighting stance. He figured it was better if he fought them alone. He turned to Yugi and Nezumi, "Get her out of here, I'll stall them."

Nezumi was quick to agree and he grabbed Yugi's wrist, "Over here, Yugi!" but Yugi resisted not wanting to leave Natalie behind. Nezumi ended up dragging him away, "Hurry, Yugi!"

"I can't leave Natalie and Jounouchi!"

Natalie stood up only to get hit in the same eye, "I'm going to kill you all in your sleep." She threatened and then she was pushed to the side and was stomped on.

Jounouchi's eyes widened and he made his way to go help her but was stopped by more yo-yos, "Their attacks are well prepared. We were set up." He announced.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Natalie glared but was hit again. One-eyed Will was above her and he grinned, "Since you like games, let's play this one! Every time you decide to speak, I'll beat you!"

Hirutani stepped forward from the shadows, "Jounouchi, you are trapped like a rat." He chuckled, "One wrong move and one of those yo-yos that surround you will hit you! Just like they did to your friend there."

All Jounouchi could do was glare at his old enemy. He should have known that Hirutani won't give up so easily. He would stop at nothing to get him back. The thing is, is that Jounouchi had no idea what had happened to Hirutani. He figured some idiot tazed themselves in the rain. Well that's how Natalie explained it. Jounouchi's surprised that Hirutani had made it out okay. It was like Hirutani never got electrocuted.

"Hirutani!" Jounouchi snarled, "You won't get away with this!"

Hirutani chuckled, "I think I already did, Jounouchi," He pointed over to something, "Look over there."

Jounouchi and Natalie looked over to see that Nezumi and some other guy had held Yugi down. The boy tried to struggle free but it was no use. Natalie's eyes widened in horror as Hirutani ordered the boy to grab the hook that they were gonna hold her up with. Now she saw why they saved that thing for. They hooked it up to Yugi's millennium puzzle and released it. The rope that held the pendant applied pressure around Yugi's neck as it hung him up. It cut out his air and Yugi began to choke.

Hirutani chuckled. Pleased with himself as he crossed his arms. He took satisfaction at Jounouchi's helplessness, "Good work, Nezumi." Hirutani praised, "Everything went according to plan."

Natalie got on her knees but the guy above her wouldn't allow it. She looked over at Jounouchi who was trapped and then over to Yugi who had his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"Please." She pleaded trying to contact the dark spirit.

"Who said you could talk!"

Not caring about the guy's weight above her she continued to beg, "I know you can hear me!" She flinched again, "Let me save you!"

The millennium puzzle glowed as she reached out for it. She felt like if she had the millennium scale back in her grasp. This time she wasn't filled with so much gluttonous thoughts of souls. She was filled with, "Wrath." She whispered as she rolled to the side, tripping the guy above her in the process.

"Why you-" She stopped him as she placed both of her hands on his skull, "Illusion of fear." She cast out loud. The boy's expression quickly changed from anger to down right fright. He scrambled away from her but in his eyes he didn't see a little girl. He saw..

"Lion!" He ran out, "There's a lion in here!"

Hirutani and Jounouchi stared at the boy like if he was insane. This fortunately let those who had surrounded Jounouchi pause the yo-yo attacks and Jounouchi took this golden opportunity to save his friend. He grabbed Yugi by his legs and lifted him up so that it could relieve the pressure around Yugi's neck. Yugi was able to weakly get the hook off and he held onto Jounouchi's shoulders. Jounouchi set him down before he got attacked by yo-yos. He clenched his jaw not realizing how painful these things can be.

Hirutani glared at the sudden outcome, "Damn you, Jounouchi!" He then ordered for all of them to continue to attack.

Jounouchi had his arm over Yugi, "Hirutani, this is nothing! Prepare yourself for my counter attack!"

This made the alpha Rintama boy laugh, "You're all talk, Jounouchi, just look around you!" At least he still had the situation under control. Natalie finally released herself and rolled her eyes at this whole thing.

"Jounouchi!" She yelled, "Use the millennium puzzle! They're just yo-yos!"

The idea sparked in Jounouchi's head faster than he can say, "Time to turn the tides." Yugi had given him the pendant and Jounouchi began to spun it around with a grin, "Let's go, you bunch of apes!" None of them had noticed anything peculiar as they kept throwing their yo-yos at the blonde, not even realizing that the strings were getting attached to the puzzle.

Natalie went ahead to look for the guy who had been hurting her from the beginning. And that was one-eyed willy. She had found him still trembling and grabbed a hold of him who still kept reminding himself that she was a lion, "Where's my friend, you sick fuck!?"

"Please, don't eat me!" He whimpered.

"I'm going to do a lot more if you don't start talking!"

Quivering in fear, he pointed outside, probably to another warehouse. She nudged him, "Take me there."

"W-w-why?"

"In case you decide to lead me to a trap," She grabbed him by the throat, "My hands will be ready." The guy got the idea and he lead the way. Natalie looked back to see Hirutani had rallied up his boys to go against the pair. Her eyes landed on Yugi who was now the dark spirit of the millennium puzzle. He caught her eyes for the moment and nodded in approval. She smirked knowing he'd be okay and took off to find Yume.

"It's still be two days till we say we are sorry."

* * *

**Author here...**

***Edit: forgot scene transitions**

Every time I write, read, or watch a gang fight in Yu-Gi-Oh! I just think of 80's theme fights but with children's toys and it's the most funniest and most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my lifetime.

Nezumi is a character from the manga. My description as to how his hair color looks is all in my imagination 12 years ago. I don't know why my ten year old self thought he had green hair but it made sense in my head at that time.. I hope it doesn't bother anyone.

Before I forget, I really want to thank those who have reviewed and adore my OC. In all honesty, I did not expect your reactions. I always thought that Natalie is pretty much Mary Sue since the first day I've thought about her but who knows I could be just overly criticizing myself. I also try and not make anyone out of character. Otherwise what is point of making a fanfic, I'd just be jerking myself (not literally) with fake characters. Though I am open to asking myself and interpreting, "What would Yami Yugi do in this situation or how would Yugi think of this?" Or! This actually helps...

"How would Dan Green sound like if he said any of this shit?"

Like a moron :D ... I'm kidding. I love Dan Green guys. Stahp.

Ok this is one of the last chapters with added originality, the next two or three maybe? will cover straight up from either manga or anime or both altogether depending where the story takes me. Again thank you for those who have favorited, followed, reviewed, or just simply glanced at my story. Thank you so much. I know I don't usually come out here and talk about reviews and such but just wanted you all to know I still read and appreciate them lol I won't hold it against anyone who doesn't want to review or is just a passerby because I do it, too. And that's because my username doesn't stay logged onto my phone lol

See you all next week... or two.

[Deleted Scene]

Shadi stared off into the sunset with admiration. His apprentice on the other hand had her eyes closed and had leaned back, enjoying the warmth before it left. Since she was used to warm weather climate back in California and her time spent in Egypt, she has missed it so much. Domino gets a little too cold for her liking at night.

"What a beauty, the sun is." Shadi muttered poetically, "Representing life and growth altogether. Without it, we would not have formed and sustain life here in this world." He breathed in the fresh air getting lost in his memories, "I can still remember the songs and the dances at the time."

Natalie opened her eyes and narrowed her eyes at the unexpected blind light. Her hands went over her forehead, "Yeah what a beauty infra and ultra-violet rays are. A star like that represents life and death for humanity. Is one thing people tend to forget that that thing," She stood up to point at the big ball of fire in the sky, "will end up consuming us in flames... Or cancer." She shrugged.

Shadi narrowed his eyes at her. Now that she had killed his moment, he decided to walk away, "Now I understand why the ancient pharaohs at the time had named you after the goddess Sekhmet."

"Oh come on!" Natalie shouted after him, "I was only being honest!"


	12. Chapter 12

_**Guess who's still alive! It's yours truly! Hang tight, kids. Finals are almost over.**_

_**Chapter... 12: Capumon! Gotta Catch 'Em All! (literally)**_

* * *

Natalie had an annoyed expression while holding Yume's hair back as she threw up in the public restroom of a restaurant. You're wondering what the hell had happened? Turns out Yume wasn't that much in trouble when Natalie found her. Yume was caught singing the time away and waiting for her rescue. It was all good till Yume began to groan and claimed that she wasn't feeling so good. Jounouchi had finished his quarrels from the previous gang and had apologized to Natalie. She accepted it and had helped him clean out the wounds around his eyes. They had all agree to eat a late dinner at the same burger joint that she and Yugi always went to. Speaking of Yugi, he wasn't present at the moment. Nope. It was the spirit of the puzzle that were with them. He didn't say much to her and she didn't say anything as well. Which she guessed was a good sign for now.

The sound of Yume's heaving almost grossed Natalie out to the point where she almost let go of her hair and run out of there. Yume then stood up to go to the sink and rinse herself. Natalie shivered, almost retching, and peered over to her friend, "You good?"

"I... I'm sober enough to walk back to your place."

Natalie blinked, "Wait, who said you could stay over?"

"I SAID SO!"

"Alright! Alright!" Natalie giggled nervously, not wanting to trigger anything, "You sure you don't want to stick around and get to know the guys?"

Yume calmed down and began to fix her hair, "Not in this state." She then wiped away the smudges of her eyeliner before walking out of there, "I'll see you later!"

Natalie frowned at her departure. She walked over to the bathroom mirror to look at herself in the mirror. There were some bruises around her cheek bones, a black eye, and her lip was a bit swollen. If she had the millennium scale, all of it wouldn't look so concerning. If she had any millennium item to begin with, none of this would've escalated. She realized how much she had depended on those items. It wasn't good. Then again, it wasn't so bad either. _"Sachmis."_

She jumped at the sound and realized she was still alone in the restroom. She took it back. The millennium items and the shadow games in general were a very bad idea from the start. The sad thing was, she would've ran into those type of things either way at some point of her life. She slapped both sides of her cheeks and groan at the fact that she forgot about the yo-yo beating earlier.

There was a knock at the door that snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked at the door in confusion. Why would anyone knock if they could just walk in to use the stalls? The knocking continued and a voice accompanied it, "Natalie? Are you alright?"

She opened the door to come face to face with the spirit of the millennium puzzle. For the first time he was able to look at her and the bruises she had earned from the gang. He didn't want to admit it but it had angered him. She didn't deserve any of this.

"Sorry, for keeping you." She spoke up as she closed the door behind her, "Yume had left and I needed a little time alone."

He nodded, "That is understandable."

"So, where's Jounouchi?" She asked as she noticed they were the only two (aside from the workers) in the restaurant.

"He had to leave as well." He spoke monotonously. It was like he was holding himself back. She may have apologized and followed her part of the deal but he still didn't trust her.

Natalie held her arm and avoided eye contact. This was most awkward situation she had ever had with him, "Well, I guess I'll go on home then."

His eyebrows furrowed, "You're not going to eat anything?"

She shrugged, "I wasn't really hungry." She didn't know how things are after this. Were they still going to continue to avoid each other? Is there some sort of truce? She couldn't really tell by reading him since he kept his features in check. She pursed her lips in thought. She guessed it be better to continue to keep distance and thank him for coming by to help... Even though it was she who had helped him.

"Well, I'll be going then." She said noticing he wasn't going to say anything, "Thanks for the help back there. Make sure Yugi gets home safe."

"Natalie, wait," He reached out for her before she walked away from him, "I would like to walk you home." It was more of a command than anything else. Natalie gave off a pout and wasn't going to allow this.

"I'll be fine on my own, thanks, and it's getting late."

"I want to speak to you about our terms." Again he wasn't letting his imperative mood go and before Natalie could turn him down again, he spoke, "And since it is late, as you stated, it seems logical that we talk things over as we walk."

Natalie never wanted her temporary living quarters to be known by anybody but if she wanted to gain his trust back, she supposed it wouldn't hurt. Well... There wasn't any way around this adamant spirit. _He must have been some sort of general in his previous life._ Natalie thought in annoyance, "Okay, after you then."

Natalie had taken the lead to her place as the spirit of the millennium puzzle walked alongside her. Not much was exchanged between the two even though he said he wanted to talk to her. She knew he wasn't much of a talker to begin with. So, she settled by watching his crimson eyes. There he watched the world around him in curiosity and amazement. It was like letting a child out for the first time in the world. Her hands settled on playing with the tips of her hair that was over her left shoulder as she thought about her previous statement about him being some type of military profession. He couldn't be anymore older than Yugi. She wouldn't know anyways. The way he spoke and how he carried himself was like she was speaking to a man... In a teenagers body. Come to think of it, she doesn't know how this spirit looks like. He's in possession of Yugi. The only times she was aware that he's in control is again how he spoke, the change in his attitude and the aura he carried that changed his eyes and overall appearance. She thought back to what Shadi has said. If the millennium puzzle and most likely the spirit had chosen Yugi, then why? How does Yugi fall under this? And who in the hell is the spirit of the millennium puzzle?

She frowned. This was something she should have investigated when she had promised him to but instead she was so focused on taking him away and observe him like a science experiment. Guilt spread through her like a disease. Ever since she had been getting ancient knowledge from the millennium items, she felt a little inhumane.

"Is there something wrong?" His voice brought her back to reality.

She gave him a half smile, though, it didn't reach her eyes, "No, just a little amused."

"Oh?" He smirked, "What's so amusing about my face?"

"Just the fact that you look a bit in a daze." She referred to the world around them.

"Well you have to remember that most of the time I navigate the world through a ship." He held up his pendant and joked, "A puzzle ship for that matter."

Natalie stopped walking just to stare at him poking at the eye of Ra of the millennium puzzle, "A puzzle ship?" She questioned thinking how ridiculous that sounded. She looked over at the building that was her living quarters. The spirit took note on that and stopped to take in how it looked. Memorizing the simple details and the road distance from the game shop and school. He frowned and turned to her, "You live alone?"

"Well, at the moment, Yume is up there in my room." She shrugged, "I don't have any other relatives that I know and those who know me probably think I'm dead."

"Natalie, why couldn't you have told me the truth?"

"Protection."

"From what?"

"From you and from me."

The spirit frowned. Though, it would make sense when they first met but as time progressed they had grown to become two individuals who had trusted each other. Well that's what he thought. Natalie ran her hands through her hair and began, "All my life I've been told what to do and where to go. It all just happened so fast that I became trapped. It wasn't till a little over a few years ago where I began to pull myself away from all that and it led me to these unexpected events. With that led me to believe that there is something else beyond my knowledge with these items I once hunted for those bastards. I just want answers. I never expected the outcome when I ran into the boy who carries the millennium puzzle. I didn't expect you." She turned away from him and he had noticed her eyes shined underneath the street light. He then realized she was trying not to cry. After letting out a large breath she had just breathed in she turned to face him again with determination, "Don't you want to know who you are? Or why all this is happening?"

His hands were around his pendant as his eyes gazed down at the eye of the puzzle. There was a sense of longing and this desire to feel complete in his inner core. His answers were right here with him. And that answer is Yugi. He felt the corners of his lips tug upwards as his eyes closed for a moment. He could feel his soul embracing with the young boy's. In that moment, everything felt full as the moon above them. In that moment, he felt whole. No matter how far he was from the truth or the power of his millennium puzzle. This is what his heart spoke. Forever trusting who he was. He was Yugi. Yugi was him. With that nothing else matters.

After a moment, he had opened his eyes and finally spoke, "I am fine with the way things are." Natalie blinked in confusion as he looked over to her and smiled, "I don't really need to know. I am happy with Yugi."

Natalie frowned but nonetheless she nodded, "If that is what you wish, as for me I won't stop searching."

"Where will you go from then?"

"I don't know." Natalie shrugged, "I just hope I find that sense of belonging like you." She then started walking towards the building.

"Natalie," He called before her and she paused not looking back at him, "I wish to relieve your penalty."

She smiled but he didn't see it and she waved at him, "I'll see you tomorrow, you thousand year old soul."

He smirked and began to walk the opposite direction.

Later on that night...

The pair of golden eyes wouldn't close shut and grant their owner some sleep. She laid on her side. Her body aligned straight as she had her arms crossed. She didn't need a millennium item to know that there was a darkness nearby. It gave her an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. It seems as if whatever obstacle she overcomes, more seem to appear in front of her. It's like she's playing a part in a huge game. _A game of life?_ She mused but it seems much bigger. The only thing is that she's a blind player. A blind player walking around aimlessly under a game master's control. She has no idea what is in store for her. She still has no idea what the name "Sachmis" means to her or any of this for that matter. And more importantly she feels like she's losing herself and her own mind.

"Natalie, what's wrong?" Yume spoke up in a state of sleepiness as she seemed to noticed her friend's uneasiness.

"I feel like I'm having an identity crisis." Natalie just mumbled back.

"Are you high?"

"Yume, I'm being serious." Natalie snapped at her as she sat up and held her torso, "I feel as if I don't belong in this body or this time period but that makes no fucking sense!"

"Whoa!" Yume stood up from her spot on the couch, now aware that Natalie was having some sort of anxiety attack, "Calm down, now what's the problem?"

"Everything, Yume! I don't know if this is post traumatic stress or I'm just... Ugh, I don't even know anymore!" Natalie just began to rock herself and Yume walked over to hold her friend. Only one time Natalie had broken down like this and that was when Yume and her ran away from the hunters and seeked refuge in Egypt. Yume had hushed her and began to hum a lullaby for the girl. Natalie had already laid back down and curled up. Her breathing was now back to normal and her eyes were now closed. Everything began to slow down. It was now quiet and soft. Yume smirked at how fast the girl had fallen back to sleep. Her green eyes glowed in the dark and her aura had increased carefully as to not alert the poor girl again. Natalie's muscles tense as her body felt Yume's nails graze on her back. Yume hushed her again so she won't wake and began to sing the lullaby she had hummed earlier, "Do not fret, my prince, I am here. Come lie back to sleep. Away from the shadows and away from the thieves."

Natalie was now entering the stage of deep sleep. This enabled Yume to move away from her, "Like a sleeping cub." She giggled as she collected her things and kept humming the lullaby, "I hope you remember those words." Yume spoke to the sleeping Natalie, "They will definitely come back to haunt you."

Yume had walked out of Natalie's apartment. While keeping an eye out to see that nobody was watching her, she made her way to a parked car that had been running for a while. The back seat door was open for her to go in. Again she looked around to see if the coast was clear before stepping in and making herself feel comfortable. There a voice had spoken to her.

_"How was it?"_

"She found him." Yume replied.

_"Does she have the item?"_

"Not yet, she's letting the boy keep it."

_"Is she aware of her memories?"_

"She's aware but she has no idea."

_"Then we must act fast, Yume, you know what to do."_

* * *

_"Do not fret, my prince, I am here. Come lie back to sleep. Away from the shadows and away from the thieves."_ Sang a male's voice, _"Away from those who seek... I'll be here to protect you from your enemies and all your demons."_

There on the underside of the bed, she saw through her eyes, green scales. It slithered along the golden bed post. She had found herself crawling towards the large bed. Why wouldn't anyone hear her? Why can't the man stop singing? There was a growl and it didn't come from her. Then there was a cry and it still didn't come from her. Flashes of a green scaled monster growled at her. She growled back. She pounced. She attacked. She bit onto the outstretched, tanned arm, tasting the venom. The last thing she heard...

_"Assassin!"_

Natalie gasped awake, coughing, grossed out at the taste behind her throat. The next thing she knew was that she lurched on the side of the bed and vomit out whatever it was in her mouth and behind her throat. Able to breath again, her golden eyes opened weakly and she gasped at the sight below her. It was blood.

.

Ignoring the unusual event this morning held, Natalie carried out her day as if it were normal. Then again, when did she ever had a normal morning? A normal day for that matter. Eventually, Natalie was back with her friends now that Jounouchi felt relaxed having her around Yugi. The short male had already forgiven her since day one. Miho and Honda did not experience the scene to begin with but they had trusted their friend's judgments. Anzu, on the other hand, wasn't so forgivable. Though, she wasn't going to argue with Yugi about it, yet. Whenever Natalie was a little too close to Yugi, Anzu took it upon herself to cut in by asking Yugi a question relating to school work or direct him to get something for her. Natalie was aware of her actions but didn't seem to mind it. If anything, Natalie felt that she would do the same thing if she were in Anzu's shoes. Natalie had noticed a difference in atmosphere amongst her friends. Even when absent for a week and a few days, it seems her friends had somewhat changed a bit. Jounouchi obviously became more of the older brother of the bunch and had agreed to keep the connection between her and everyone else. She figured he would've been the one who was unforgiving but he was the first to say he was sorry. Miho is... well she's still Miho. Okay, that was mean. She's probably the only female friend that Natalie can openly talk to in school now. Honda still amazed Natalie at the amount of obsessiveness he carries. Anzu appeared to take Natalie's old place and seemed to protect Yugi from her. This act alone triggered something within Natalie. She noticed Anzu walking with Yugi every morning now. Yugi seemed to enjoy her company as well. Natalie had also realized that he had gone much bolder in his actions. It's like the spirit was influencing him much more ever since that night. It was weird because Yugi still had no idea who the spirit is and truly believes that the spirit is him. Natalie rubbed her temples. She could just tell him... No, she had just got his trust back. No need to act like a psycho again.

Natalie did not know what to expect when she had walked in to their classroom. Anything could have happened. What had happened was that there was a gumball looking machine on Miho's desk. Did she ask? Why would she?

"This is a gacha box, isn't it?" Anzu had questioned first. Natalie looked at her strangely, "Gacha what?"

"Capsule monster gacha box, Natalie." Yugi answered her with a smile, "Also known as Capumon, it's popular amongst elementary kids. Each capsule has a hidden monster inside."

"Huh," Was all Natalie could respond. Yeah, she didn't miss out much, "What do the numbers signify, though?" She had asked him.

"It's the level of the monster." Yugi replied, "What you do with these capsule monsters is you play them on a chess-like board. You won't know your opponent's monster, only their level."

She then heard Jounouchi snort, "But there's no way any of this would make Miho happy!"

Miho, then, squealed in delight which made everyone face her. There, hidden with each capsule, was not a monster but jewelry of all kinds. Natalie giggled at the sight, a bit happy for Miho. That is till she found out some college guy had sent Miho, a fifteen year old, this gift with a love note attached to it. Natalie felt a culture clash within her. What was she worrying about? The guy could have probably been fresh out of high school.

Boy, was she wrong.

Before Natalie goes ahead and gets herself into the usual mess, the first sign of concern was that Anzu had went up to her locker after school. Of all people, it had to be Anzu. Natalie wasn't on her list of favorite people in the world.

"Natalie, have you walked with Yugi lately?" She had asked her. Natalie was busying tying her shoe and she had replied, "No, I thought he had been with you."

"I only walk with him in the mornings, since I work after school but lately he's been leaving without saying goodbye." Anzu explained, "So, I figured he was probably with you."

Natalie didn't see anything unusual about it, "He probably went to play at an arcade or his grandfather has been giving extra chores." Shrugging, Natalie stood up, "I guess I'll ask him the next time I see him."

Anzu huffed and she crossed her arms, "It's fine." With that she had walked away and left a confused Natalie.

"Huh, rude."

The second sign of concern was when the spirit had made contact with her one day at school. She couldn't do much but listen to what he had to say. No way was she able to reply back but just stare down at Yugi's shadow. That is how she found herself walking about five feet away from Yugi after school. She had no idea where he was going. Earlier she had asked him if she could accompany him after school. He automatically told her that he was going to be busy and left before she said anything else. She felt like a creep. A stalker, even.

Eventually, Natalie had lost Yugi's trail and frowned to herself. She did not know why the spirit wanted her to follow Yugi around even though Yugi didn't have time to hang out. He's been avoiding the whole group for the past few days. This made her stop in her steps. Her eyes had widened in horror, "Oh my god, Yugi is doing drugs!"

She looked around and cursed to herself. How was she going to find him when she doesn't have a millennium item to help her out?

"Yugi?" She had called out, "Spirit!"

Obviously, there was no reply except for the fact that there are a few people looking at her weirdly for shouting those type of words. Her brain racked through the possibilities to where he could have gone in this general area. Maybe the park? She thought as she continued to walk. Suddenly, a boy wearing a sack to cover his head and mask his face appeared before her trying to act out menacingly. It didn't take a three year old to figure out who was behind the mask. The star-shaped hair somehow made it obvious.

"Yugi, what the hell are you doing?"

"Give me your money!" He shouted, making his voice deep enough to sound like his other self which confused Natalie and put her in a weird spot. She wasn't sure what to do at this point.

"I am so confused." Natalie had stated and just then a guy had shrieked out a battle cry. Out of nowhere, he had tackled Yugi against a bunch of garbage cans. Concerned for her friend she growled out, "Hey, jackass, what do you think you're doing!?"

He stood up and posed heroically, "I am hear to save you, Mi-" he stopped mid sentence and adjusted his glasses and saved his lollipop from falling out, "Uh... You're not Miho-chan."

"You'd wish I was, you jerk!" Natalie fumed and took a few steps towards him but then she began to feel dizzy. Her whole body temperature rose dramatically and Natalie collapsed onto the floor, "N-no... Immune system, why have you forsaken me?"

Miho had now just walked into the scene and gasped at the sight, "What have you done to Yugi and Natalie!?"

This is now the day that pigs will fly and a blue moon will shine tonight. Natalie is completely helpless, Yugi was about to mug her, and Miho comes in to save the day.

Yugi scrambled over to Natalie who is now snoozing away. He had never seen her like this. He had no idea what to do.

"Natalie?" Yugi called as he nudged her, "Natalie!"

In the background, Miho had pounded away on the strange college boy's head. Obviously, she is no longer interested in her short-term capumon pen pal. The older boy held his head down in defeat as Miho ran away. Yugi looked over to him feeling a bit bad but he felt more guilty for Miho going through that. He looked down at Natalie who began to shiver slightly. He had been preoccupied with his capumon friend that he did not see the early symptoms of his friend. He had gathered her in his arms and began to walk back to his house.

The millennium puzzle rested on her stomach and pulsed. Natalie's temperature had came back to normal and the previous events had came back to her. Her eyes snapped open thinking she and Yugi were still in danger. She grabbed onto the person holding her as she didn't feel the ground below her, "Miho!" She shouted.

"She's fine." A low baritone voice had replied to her. She looked over to Yugi, who was now the spirit of the millennium puzzle, in shock, "What...what..."

"Natalie, please use words."

"Why are you carrying me?" She questioned, "_How_ are you carrying me...?" It looked ridiculous as her legs were pretty much sticking out.

He rolled his eyes, "If you keep moving like that, I may drop you."

"That's not nice." She crossed her arms feeling drowsy again, "Now, can you explain why Yugi is hanging around with that guy?"

"It's best if Yugi tells you, right now you should get some rest." He looked down and watched her eyelids shut before she could even argue back. He, too, wanted to know as well. Though, the level of concern didn't occur to him till this Warashibe character decided to trap him like a caged animal. Another thing, he didn't expect was for Natalie to faint out of nowhere. Ever since Shadi had left, he had notice her health was a bit off. The amount of time for her to heal began to dramatically increase. He could still see the faint marks of the bruising she had got from the Rintama gang.

"Assassin."

He heard her mumble as he set her down onto the couch. He had made it back to the game shop. Yugi's grandfather had just closed the shop and went ahead and got Yugi's mother from upstairs to come down and check on the girl.

"Natalie?"

There was no response. Her eyes began to open to look up to his crimson eyes. She was shaking, "I'm sorry but I can't sleep." Her eyes looked distant, "I keep hearing a song." Her fingers went to rub her temples, "It's freaking me out."

"Natalie, you're not feeling well." That was an understatement. He felt the skin on her forehead and her cheeks heat up again, "You need to rest." He froze, not expecting her to grab his hand. There was a firm grip as if she were going to slip away and he was the only thing for her to grab on.

She muttered weakly, "I can't."

"Then try." He persisted.

"Will you stay?" She asked not letting go of his hand. He gave her a half-smile and replied, "When you wake, you will see Yugi."

She sighed, her drowsiness got the best of her. The grip she had on his hand loosened but he made no move to remove it. She then allowed her eyes to close again.

Only to see the eyes of the serpent again.

Natalie had awoken that morning sluggishly. She was thankful that Yugi had an extra tooth brush to spare. What she had notice, and hid away from him, was blood whenever she would rinse out her mouth. Her hand began to tremble unintentionally as she watched the red color fade away from the sink as the water drained. The only time this had ever happened was when she was a little girl before she had spent countless of her days in and out of the hospital. She decided not to think about it and carried on as her mind set back to what had happened the previous day. Yugi had walked alongside her during lunch time with a bashful look. He had explained everything to her and had apologized several times over at how stupid he had acted. With that Natalie's only response was to belt out in laughter and getting weird looks from everyone around her, "Yugi," She called out, "Sometimes you're just too nice."

Yugi pouted as he allowed her to ruffle his hair. Jounouchi had the same reaction but just only by laughing at the situation, "I can't believe there is a guy who would use an old trick like that!" He had sat down next to Natalie, who hadn't been feeling well to eat. Anzu had join in sitting across from them, "Natalie, what had happened to you again?"

"A fever got to me so I really wasn't doing much." She had muttered as she swirled her chopstick around in her miso soup. She had felt bad. Lunch time was her favorite period and she can't even find her own appetite.

"You shouldn't be pushing yourself then." Anzu had scolded her. Natalie waved it off. Too groggy to even care.

Suddenly, someone had placed a glass of water down in front of her. The same with Jounouchi and Anzu. Natalie huffed and glared at the glass while pushing it away, "I wanted milk." Her lips had pursed to a pout. And just in time Yugi had stepped in with two cartons of milk. Though, his focus was on the random guy who had given his friends water. The guy then had disappeared. Yugi looked around to see if there was anyone else being handed out water but there was nothing. How peculiar, he had thought. He felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Yugi?"

He looked down at the tired looking girl. Her eyes seemed to be a dull honey-colored. Which was strange. Hadn't they always been a bright gold?

"I think I'm going to head back to my classroom." She had stood up holding her head and then took a milk carton off his hands.

His lips turned downward to a frown, "Idol-..," he shook his head, "I mean, Natalie, you need to eat something."

"I'll eat what your mom made last night." She waved him off trying to focus her balance and not look like a drunken idiot. Jounouchi looked over to Anzu who had simply shrugged, "Should have stayed home." Is what she had muttered under her breath. Though, there concern for their friend had ceased when not only them but Honda as well had begun to feel under the weather. First nausea had hit them, then it was a downright fever.

Natalie had stood next to Yugi with a guilt-ridden expression. Had she spread some sort of disease? Then a look of panic spread across her face. Oh-no! She was going to kill her friends!

_"Natalie, over there."_

She heard the spirit of the millennium puzzle call to her. Then she had sensed it. There was a strange presence outside the door. It was the same one from earlier during lunch time. Even though she was under the weather this stupid six sense still acted on auto mode throughout the day. She blamed the millennium puzzle. Yes, everything is better when blaming the old, conceited soul.

_"Focus."_

She heard him growl. She rolled her eyes to herself and excused herself to step outside for fresh air. Though, the nurse on duty had told her that she was excused to go home since her temperature seemed to increase a bit.

"Would you like me to contact the Mutou residence?" The nurse had asked her and Natalie couldn't help but blush and shot a look to Yugi, who had looked away nervously.

"I kinda told her about your sickness earlier and in case you needed help getting home." He stuttered in his response and Natalie had grind her teeth at his hospitality. Really. She did not deserve him at all.

She placed her hand over his head and he flinched for a moment till he felt her ruffle his hair again. Then she leaned forward and muttered a thank you near his red ear. She grinned back at the nurse, "I'll be fine, miss, I'm gonna go straight home anyways."

With that she had walked out and then went on her hunt for this stranger. It was funny. Even after feeling like crap, she still had enough of her to pump adrenaline to get to her target. Stupid, she was. Did she care at the moment? Nope. It was time for some ass kicking and cry later...

"Oh, I am going to feel terrible in the morning!" She groaned to herself as she walked down a familiar path. Tilting her head, she had observed some trashcans on the side that have yet to be picked up. There she felt something stir in her. She knew who the stranger was... Stepping into that warehouse she saw that strange college creep who had been sending Miho weird capsule monster gifts.

"Hm?" He switched the lollipop in his mouth to go to the opposite cheek, "Who are you?"

"Why must strange creatures tend to make abandon warehouses their home?" Natalie was confident that even without the help of a millennium item, she was able to fend for herself from this lanky weirdo.

Warashibe looked at her up and down, then realized she was one of Yugi's friends. Ah, yes. She was one of those who is interfering with the hands of fate. But, how can this be? Isn't she supposed to be ill with the rest of them? Warashibe had got up from his spot and walked closer to her. Natalie eyed him cautiously as he circled around her. He toyed with his lollipop as he thought. What can he do to her? Oh! A thought had occurred to him.

"You're just what I needed!" His eyes had sparkled with delight as he waved his hands about. Natalie gave him a questionable look and backed away as he approached her, "yes, Yes, YES!" He unexpectedly grabbed onto her shoulders, "You can totally fit the role! I can see it now!"

"See what?" Natalie stared wide eyed as she tensed up. Her fists clenched at her sides as her body prepared itself into fight or flight mode.

"You are now our personal servant!"

Fight n flight mode off.

"E-excuse me?" Natalie squeaked.

"Miho, my dear, sweet goddess and I, the master and king of capsule monsters will do well with a personal slave!"

Then he had earned a punch to the face. Sachmis rage mode engaged.

"Who are _you_ calling a damn slave!?" She roared, "How dare you to stoop me so low! I am no slave to you nor a stupid mortal who calls themselves a king!"

Suddenly, the doors had burst open and there entered Miho and Yugi. Yugi, who had a confused look on his face as he saw that Natalie had been there standing over Warashibe-kun, who was on the floor rubbing his cheek. Miho, on the other hand, had a score to settle.

"My sweetheart!" Warashibe's eyes had lighten up and he had forgotten about the pain on his cheek as he stood up with open arms, "So, you finally come to jump into my arms!"

Miho rage mode engaged.

"Don't joke, you scum!" She glared, "Miho was wrong on her part but there was no need to do such terrible things to Anzu!"

Oh, Anzu was the victim here... Natalie looked at the two, already cooled off at what happened. She had never seen Yugi looked so angry.

"It couldn't be helped." Warashibe replied like if there was nothing wrong with his actions, "They got in the way with my fate with you."

A disgusted look made a way onto Natalie's face as she continued to watch this little feud. If Jounouchi was here, he would agree to settle this with a good kick in the ass. Though, Miho was so angry that she had agree to play capsule monsters with this freak. Natalie shook her head. No, no, no, no, no...no-no...no, no... No.

The game board had been set and the players have chosen their capsules. Miho already had a huge disadvantage.

"Oh, we are so screwed." Natalie muttered feeling her temperature rise a bit. After a few turns Miho had burst out in frustration. This caused Yugi to trip over onto the gacha box machine. The box had fallen and the top had broken off. Yugi noticed a strange device as he recovered. He felt his fists clench as he glared over to Warashibe, "You... This is a trick isn't?"

Natalie looked over to creep who had a smug grin on his face, "That's right. It always switches between outputting low and high levels."

"What!" Miho shouted.

"I didn't want to put you through a long, painful fight." Warashibe gave that as an excuse, "The sooner we are together, the more happy we can be with our slave!"

Natalie felt another rant coming in and she thought about slamming her fists down at the gaming board but Miho had cut her off.

"Stop with your excuses! What you did was against the rules and don't talk that way to Natalie, you scum!" She turned to look over at Yugi and then to Natalie, "Since he cheated, we automatically win. Let's go."

Natalie was stunned and she couldn't help but nod after Miho. Though, in her head a little Natalie had danced with joy as she had never had someone stick up for her that way. _"Thank you, Miho!"_ Natalie had grinned like a goof totally unaware that Warashibe had brought out a giant capsule. Miho grabbed onto her arm, "This guy is nuts, let's run!"

Natalie snapped out of it and noticed a metal railing gate fall towards them. The metal weight was too much for the ceiling to stabilize and had collapsed as well. Through, her eyes she saw it fall upon Miho. There she had dove and shoved Miho out of the way. Miho didn't expect the forceful shove coming from Natalie and had rolled to the safe side in a daze and later fainted. Natalie turned to tackle Yugi out of the way but felt a harsh hit onto her head, "So much for playing hero." Natalie joked as she felt herself slip away but did not reach the floor. Instead she was held up against the other one.

"Hero?" The spirit of the millennium puzzle had muttered as he picked her up and glared towards Warashibe's direction. This prank had gone too far. It was bad enough that Natalie was having a hard time to heal herself and now she has to deal with a new injury. Warashibe had noticed a difference in Yugi. He watched as Yugi had held the girl in his arms and felt the hate hit towards him, "I cannot let you get away with this." He spoke, "Game time."

Yami Yugi rage mode engaged.

Even the way he spoke. This wasn't the timid personality Warashibe had hung out with. The spirit had placed Natalie near Miho, who was still out, and had taken off his jacket to place it underneath Natalie's head to keep it elevated.

The spirit of the millennium puzzle had sat down in Miho's place and decided to play with the capsules that Miho had. Not pleased with Warashibe's mock laughter at how this unbalanced game will play out, the other Yugi allowed that confident grin to spread across the creep's face. It'll make his victory much more sweeter when he beats Warashibe at his own game. The monsters had come to life as the shadow game started. Miho's previous monster had begun to battle the snake that Warashibe picked. Both attacks had cancelled out as the snake bit onto the little soldier while getting its head sliced off by the sword. The other Yugi's next monster was then burned to a crisp as Warashibe had ordered. As Warashibe takes down another monster, the smirk on Yugi's face never went away. The spirit was down to one monster while Warashibe had basically almost all of his. The game is finished.

"Yugi, you have a level two monster left over now." Warashibe chuckled, "I have won."

"Really?" The spirit questioned, still smirking.

"Hm? Not giving up, yet?"

"Take a look." The other Yugi pointed at how the arrangement of Warashibe's monsters are aligned to Yugi's last monster, "My last monster is Torido and he has one secret move."

Warashibe's face had paled at the turn of events. He knew what was coming.

"He has a one hit hissatsu attack for seven consecutive spaces." With that all of Warashibe's monsters are all destroyed and the other Yugi had claimed victory. Warashibe began to wail like a baby as the spirit claimed penalty just to shut him up.

There Miho had already woken up and noticed Natalie on the floor beside her, "Oh, no!" This caught the other Yugi's attention, "What happened to Idol!" She then looked up to Yugi, "Yugi-kun, her fever might have came back!"

"I got her." Was all he said as he gathered Natalie up in his arms for the third consecutive time. He let his jacket drape over her and turned to Miho, who was still a little in shock.

"Shall I walk you home?" He tried his best to sound like Yugi. Though, that is not what is going through Miho's head at all as she picked up his attitude towards Natalie. She shook her head a little too quickly, "No, no, no! Miho is okay on her own!" She looked to Natalie who was still asleep, "You need to take her back home and make sure she's okay."

With that the other Yugi had smiled and waited for Miho to walk out first and watched as no other creep went out after her. As soon as Miho was out of sight, he began to walk in the direction of the game shop.

Just in time, Natalie had groaned. The pain in her skull just flat out annoyed her this time. Her golden eyes met with a set of crimson ones. That could mean one thing.

"Don't tell me..."

"Go back to sleep."

* * *

**AN: **roll credits!

There you have it folks! That's what Kazuki Takahashi views you people playing pokemon! (cries because I play pokemon) Nah, I'm just kidding. It's better than being a nerd who doesn't shower and play in yugioh tournaments with their momma's money... (cries again).

"Nikki, I thought you only play magic the gathering?"

(cries even more)

And we are now in that part of the season where the characters just keep running into more creepy people! Oh, yuss. Finally, the chapter of fortune telling, date disaster, and other shit is here. What? I'm serious! I got proof right here *points on screen* Yeah! And then coming in Death-T and then the finale of this season and then and then and then... I can't wait for duelist kingdom. Please, let it be summer time hobby. I'm going crazy with school. Never mined... I'm passed that.

(Note: This is not meant to offend anybody but me)

*cries*


	13. Chapter 13

_Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet  
Make a little birdhouse in your soul_

**Chapter 12 - An Assassin's Future**

* * *

When you're stuck in a tomb, expect nothing but darkness. The smell of death and iron from blood itself will overwhelm your sense of smell and taste buds. There lay decayed bodies of those who have trespassed the tombs of the previous kings. The only source of light was the flame that burned bright on the torch moving about. There the bringer of light places the flame onto the oil. The room is lit and reveals the souls of the great ancestors. She hears the voices grow strong and tries to hide away. Scared of demons coming about to eat her because she was left behind in this cold cell.

"I have committed an unforgivable sin..."

The same voice that appears in her dreams had spoken.

"This thousand year sin... No!" He roared and she flinched, "Please put the blame on the creation of seven millennium items on me!"

She couldn't understand his words. They sounded so desperate and loud. She was frightened. Lowering her head down to the ground, she prayed it will all go away.

"I beg you! Gods of Egypt!" He proclaimed, "I pray that my son does not inherit my sins!" He began to broke down, "Let me take all of the suffering." There below the man, the ground began to collect the salty tears.

"Great evil is still upon us and I won't be here for long... Please!" He begged, "Leave my son out of this and protect him!"

That was when a loud clash of lightning made her cry and ran out of her hiding spot in fear. There she ran not knowing where she was going. The last thing she remembered were the amethyst eyes of a dying soul.

* * *

One known fact for Natalie is that ever since she had begun to socialize with Yugi and his friends here at Domino is that there is never a dull moment. Sure there are strange and creepy things that happened but in the end it's worth it when you and your friends don't die that day. A grim smile broke out of Natalie's face. She needed to find Yume. Her time is running out and she needs to find all of the millennium items. Since she had unlocked two items, she needs to find the rest. The puzzle is not included but since Yugi has it, she is not so worried. If she remembered correctly, there is four still out there.

Natalie hummed as she rested her chin on top of her hand.

Anzu appeared before her looking a little nervous. This is what Natalie thought of about her life becoming random. Of course, there wasn't much to talk about with Anzu. Ever since she had known the girl, Anzu was somewhat of a closet geek. She wanted to like the things Jounouchi and Yugi likes but at the same time she was a little self-conscious. Then Natalie learned about her hidden interest and that was dancing. Anzu almost reminded her of Yume. That was one thing Anzu and Natalie had a common interest. Natalie was able to provide her suggestions of American dance music. This was before the Yugi accident, now Anzu just became a bit cautious around Natalie. This was starting to annoy her.

"Hey, Natalie?" Anzu called, "I was wondering if you could do me favor."

Natalie awaited curiously and she didn't expect Anzu to bring out a box filled with duel monsters.

"You want me to do what?" Natalie had arched an eyebrow in confusion.

Anzu repeated not trying to capture anyone else's attention, "I want you to teach me duel monsters."

"Um, ok... Why?"

Natalie saw her blush a little bit, "Because I want to play with Yugi as well."

This was another thing Natalie found annoying. Anzu had feelings for Yugi. Natalie didn't know why it bothered her so much. If Anzu learned duel monsters, then Yugi would most likely give her all the attention. Natalie closed her eyes trying to rid of those thoughts. There was no point in it anyways. Besides the two had been best friends before she came into the picture. Why would she be any more special than Anzu? Anzu would never hurt Yugi like she did. He deserved someone better.

Natalie crossed her arms trying not to sound annoying, "Then why not ask Yugi for help?"

"You see, Idol, I don't want to look stupid in front of him." Anzu averted her eyes away from those golden ones, "I just thought you could teach me the basics and help me assemble a deck."

Natalie frowned. There is no point in holding a grudge. She'll do this for Yugi's happiness. Yugi likes Anzu anyways...

"Ok." Was all she said.

Anzu turned to stare at her wide-eyed, "You will?"

Natalie extended her hands, "Yeah, let me see what you carry. I'll see what I can do from there."

Anzu then smiled brightly and had tackled Natalie, who was surprised by the action. From then on, Natalie had given her tips and advice on what cards to have and how to balance out certain things to make any strategy work. Anzu was slowly catching on as Natalie's patience began to deteriorate.

"You look unhappy." A low baritone voice had broke her out of her thoughts.

Yugi stood there before her as the spirit of the millennium puzzle. Natalie gave him a look and then turned back to the arcade machine in front of her.

"I've had better days."

She still wore the same sad face as the night he had walked her home. He hated it. What else can he do to make her smile again? He would think that hanging out with Yugi will make her smile. Just as the days as the two used to hang out and play amongst each other. Now that he thought about it, Yugi hadn't invited her over to the game shop lately. At least not as much as he used to. Then it hit him... Maybe a game with him can cheer her up!

"How about we play a game?" He offered and this brought her attention.

"Are you talking about a shadow game?" She had asked, her eyes going wide. Her expression had made him, not chuckle, but actually laugh. "Don't be ridiculous, Natalie!" She gave him an annoyed look and pulled a strand of his blonde hair, "IT AIN'T FUNNY MUTOU!"

"NAZZIEEEEEEEEEE!" A voice had called out and Natalie felt a force hit her from behind. This made her tumble and the other Yugi went out to catch her. Though, the sudden weight made him loose his balance. Which resulted in Natalie falling on top of him. Luckily for the spirit of the millennium puzzle, he had retreated and Yugi felt both confused and pain as to why Natalie had fallen on top of him. Then he thought again... Natalie was on top of him.

"N-n-natalie, w-what are you doing?" Yugi stammered feeling her weight on something it shouldn't.

"Crying." She moaned as she picked herself up and rubbed her sternum, "Why can't the millennium puzzle be something... Oh, I don't know, something soft!"

"Am I interrupting something?" Yume had knelt down next to them as she wriggled her eyebrows, "I didn't think you two had passed the holding hands stage." Yume teased, "You kids and your hormones!"

Natalie scowled, "You're the one who pushed me!" Then she met Yugi's eye, who was just as embarrassed, "Um... Will you please get off?"

Natalie froze and her face became beet red. Yugi was no longer Yami Yugi. It was Yugi. Like a bullet, she had shot upward and away from him, "I am so sorry!"

Yume had laughed so hard that she had fallen on her back. Yugi had already sat up and crossed his legs, "It's fine, Natalie, I know you didn't mean it." He was still wondering how he had been with her in the first place. It was another memory lapse he just had. Can it be that his other self had taken over? And if he did, does Natalie know about him? This made Yugi pale even more. He had hoped his other self hadn't hurt her in any way. This was starting to annoy him. Why can't he remember a thing?

"Anyways! I came to stop by and take Natalie away from your Scooby gang!" Yume had informed him.

"And what makes you think that I'm going with you!" Natalie retorted and all Yume did was give her that one glare Natalie knows to submit to. She rolled her eyes and groaned to her long 'best friend', "Alright, alright!" Natalie then looked over to Yugi, "Well, I'm turning in for the night."

Yugi nodded, "Don't worry, Miho and Honda are probably going to do the same." And if Natalie leaves then his other self won't come out to harm her. Yugi smiled sadly to himself as he watched Yume dragged Natalie away. He wasn't going to lie, he had missed spending time with her but he can't let those nights unfold again. He can't let his other self say anymore hurtful things to her.

The spirit of the millennium puzzle blinked as he watched Natalie walk away and he had listened in on Yugi's thoughts. If he could, he would drag his soul out just to talk to Yugi. He had let out a frustrated sigh. He had never felt so much disappointment.

Natalie, on the other hand, followed Yume around like a disgruntled toddler who was about to throw another tantrum.

"Yume, I was about to challenge Yugi to space galaxy." Natalie grumbled.

Yume scoffed, "Oh, stop it! You're with him all the time and I need your assistance with something."

"Don't tell me it's another gang problem."

"Nope!" Yume smirked at her, "Even better.. It has something to do with a millennium item."

Natalie had stopped walking, "Millennium item?"

"Yeah that thing you keep talking about." Yume waved her off, "I've seen it and everything."

The younger girl gasped, "What do you mean you've _seen_ it?"

"Yeah," Yume shrugged, "It has that same eye symbol as the one that your boy has."

Natalie had begun to feel uncomfortable by those statements. She knew it never bothered her but now that she was starting to have very little feelings for the boy, those kind of statements were just lies to her. Wait... Did she just think that?

"He's not my boy, Yume, and he has a name."

"Yes, yes, Yugi Mutou. The boy with the millennium puzzle." Yume rolled her eyes, "Focus on the prize, Nazz! If these items are worth a lot, then we must hunt them."

"I thought we were over the rare hunting thing?" Natalie asked.

"If you're over it, Natalie, then why are you still searching for the items?" Yume questioned her as she crossed her arms, "Why do you still hang around that boy?"

Natalie didn't say anything else but just scowled. Yume knew she had won, "Don't say you're hanging around just to uncover who this Sachmis is." She chuckled, "Come on, Nazz, admit it! You miss hunting. You crave it."

There was something absurdly off about her best friend. Sure Yume had helped her escape but that type of nature in them had never left them. They were conditioned to have an eye for rarity. Look for variants and what not. They were like modern day pirates. You couldn't just fall out of that lifestyle. Though, Natalie had her eye on something much more importance. Money can't buy them either. That was the ancient knowledge hidden within the items.

Even though, Yume didn't believe any of the shit that Natalie had told her there was something that surrounded her emerald eyes that just looked greedy. It looked familiar to that of the curator and anybody else who have seen any of the millennium items or been around the items for a while to get lured by this darkness. That must mean that Yume had actually been around a millennium item. Natalie matched her smirk, "Perhaps you are right, Yume."

"Excellent."

Now to catch that item before Yume gets it.

Apparently the person they are looking for is a teenage male who just recently moved here. There wasn't much provided as to how he looked, only his name, but Yume mentioned that he moves around a lot with a millennium item that had been a gift from an antique shop Natalie and Yume were quite familiar with back in Egypt. According to Yume, the item was a recent trade-in.

"Yume, I don't know how you do it but you're awesome." Natalie complimented, "I wish I still had available contacts but that's what you get when you don't want the whole world to know you're alive."

Yume shrugged, "Well, you know me, I have always been the one to grab information for the rare hunters."

"You're right."

Natalie took note on how dark it got and they had been walking surprisingly not very long. She noticed they were around the area near Yugi's game shop/house. Perhaps she could go visit him after store hours. Yume had stopped walking and Natalie paused to see where they were. They stood before an open field, in which there was an old park undergoing some reconstruction. There was a hole that had been dugged up and a caution tape around it. Though there was something else that she didn't think she would witness something like this.

There below them were a bunch of individuals wearing strange garb. Natalie had confirmed that they were all dressed up as assassins from assorted eras. Why assassin? No matter what they wore, they all had either a hood or some sort of facial mask to hide their appearances. Some of them didn't even try to look the part. They wore jeans and a plain black shirt. If there weren't any street lights present, she wouldn't have seen them but hear their clattered footing.

"What are they doing?" Natalie asked as she continued to stare at them weirdly, "Do not tell me one of them has the item?"

"Well the description did say he loved playing role-playing games." Yume shrugged before walking towards them, "Let's go check it out!"

Natalie pulled her back, "Um, no. I am not dealing with live action role players."

"Come on, Nazz!" Yume persisted, "Besides we are just going to go over, talk to the guy, bargain with him, and if he refuses, then we'll just take it anyway!"

Natalie looked back at the group and one of them caught their attention. One sneakily went up to a random stranger who looked to be a man in his late forties just walking home from work. The boy had lit up a fuse to what appeared to be a firecracker and placed the bottom part in the man's pocket. The little bomb that had been implanted had set off, scaring the ever living piss out of the man, who ran off trying to extinguish the fire on his pants. The group of "assassins" laughed and praised the boy who had done a job well done.

"Excellent job, Sota!"

"You've completed the challenge of the day!"

Natalie gritted her teeth at the fact that they most likely did this prank more than once today. She had let go of Yume and marched towards them without even thinking, "Hey! That ain't nice! Someone could have gone hurt!"

"Who asked you, woman?" One of them retorted, who seemed to be the leader of the group, "You can't stop our fun! Now leave our territory, tramp!"

Sota, the boy who just did the prank, pulled the leader back, "Ryo, look, she's an American!" Sota was then shoved back, "I don't care if she's a foreigner, she has no right to talk to me that way!"

"And you have no right to call me a tramp either!" Natalie barked and Yume had begun to hold her back, "Dude, I said bargain not threat!"

The leader looked at them in confusion, "Bargain?"

Natalie rolled her eyes. Great with a lack of description, how the hell was she going to do this? Yume, though, had stepped up to the plate.

"You require something of ours!" She claimed and pointed to the leader, "Especially you, Ryo!"

The black-haired leader scoffed, "You don't call my name that way! Only my crew gets to do that! To you wenches, it's Ryota!"

Natalie's eyebrow began to twitch, "If he calls me a prostitute one more time, Yume, I will personally deliver his soul to the underworld."

Yume hushed her before continuing, "We will bargain something of much more value in exchange for the item you carry."

The boy instinctively placed a hand over his chest, "This item is not a bargaining tool. Now get lost!"

"Then you leave us no choice but to challenge you for it!" Yume shouted determinedly and Natalie looked at her in confusion, "Yume, we don't even know if he has it."

"I do." Yume smirked, "And you're going to win it over for us."

Ryota wore the same smirk, "You dare to challenge me!"

Yume continued to taunt him while reaching behind her blouse for possibly a weapon. Natalie had taken note of that. She kinda wished she was wearing something appropriately but casual it was. She brushed her honey-blonde hair back to tie it up so that it won't get in the way. Natalie didn't even have anything on her. It was more of the reason because she didn't expect any of this to happen in the first place. She was going up against weirdos with mini bombs. Natalie placed a hand on Yume's shoulders, "If you think, this lunatic has what we are looking for then we do this my way."

Yume looked up at Natalie curiously. Natalie walked over to the group who stared at her as if she were mentally challenged. Yume began to smirk as this was exactly what she had wanted all this time. She needed to know before turning Natalie over. She needed to know how far Natalie had gone with the actual millennium items.

Natalie stared down at Ryota as he scoffed at her, "What do you think you're planning?"

"That prank you did earlier and the stupid garb you all are wearing." Natalie stated in which she earned several curses, "Let's play a game that you all are probably familiar with."

"Go on." Ryota urged her to continue.

"We will play the assassin game, sudden death match."

The group had gasped at the mention of the game and Ryota smirked, "Stupid girl, didn't you know I invented that game?"

She had arched an eyebrow and stared at him mockingly, "Did you now?" She chuckled, "This game dates back five millennia ago."

Ryota pointed at the main street lamp, "It's almost curfew time and that lamp will shut down making this whole area covered in darkness." Natalie nodded, glad she wasn't wearing anything light, "We will have to hunt each other down and eliminate one another with these bombs."

One of the group members had given Natalie a set of three.

"We have three chances to strike each other out. If any of them fail, you are automatically knocked out. If you strike even once, then you automatically win." Ryota explained with a grin that gives off hidden intentions, "And there shall be absolutely no interference from anyone. Those who interfere will be blown away."

Natalie nodded as Yume kept on watching at how Natalie's attitude had change. Yume narrowed her eyes at the amount of aura Natalie had been giving off. This was not the little girl she was used to all those years ago. Can it be that they are already too late? Had Sachmis retrieved all of her memories?

Natalie had looked over to Yume, who had silently gasped. Day by day ever since Yume had came back, her gold eyes were becoming more feral. They both stood on the opposite side away from the group of role-players.

"Nazz, how are you planning on winning if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm not gonna blow them up if that is your concern." Natalie replied which made Yume looked at her weirdly, "You told me that he carries a millennium item, well then I'll just sense its presence and take it from him without him even knowing it."

Yume gasped, "You can do that?"

"I've done it before," Natalie shrugged as she didn't see anything wrong with it. Yume then cursed under her breath and thought to herself, _"Then this game is over to begin with. None of them have the millennium item!"_

Little did they know, Yugi had been walking home. He had stopped by Natalie's place to give her the extra burger he had ordered but she wasn't home. It didn't take him too long to find out where she was. He watched curiously as to what was going on. He was nearby the weird individuals in dark, stealthy like clothing. Natalie and Yume had been on the other side of the field from where he was at. The group of boys had spouted something that made Yugi glare at them.

"How are you going to blow her up?"

"I won't." Ryota chuckled, "You guys are going to do it before I even go near her. She won't even see us coming!"

Yugi took a few steps back, "How could she play such a dangerous game?" And she called him a danger magnet. He had to warn Natalie before it's too late.

Natalie had begun to close her eyes and concentrated on locating the millennium item. It didn't take long for her to find it. Smirking, she was automatically ready for the lights to go out, "I found it, Yume."

Yume looked at her weirdly, "Um, okay." Maybe Sachmis wasn't present?

"Natalie, stop!"

They both froze at the sound of Yugi's voice. Then it all clicked for Yume but at the same time she questioned as why the boy was here in the first place! Natalie had detected a millennium item and it was this boy!

"Those boys are going to ambush you!" Yugi shouted as the group of role-players ganged up on them.

"Didn't we say no interference!" Ryota shouted as he set of a fuse, "Your spy friend here will receive punishment!"

Natalie's eyes widened, "No! He's not part of this!"

Ryota didn't bother listening as he threw a bomb towards Yugi's direction. Yume cursed under her breath as she took off in Yugi's direction. _"I can't let Natalie get involved with him at this moment! Damn this kid!"_

It all happened so fast. Yugi felt a hard push due to Yume and the explosion that was set off. Yume's body then skidded off to the side, scraping her thigh and elbow in the process. The other Yugi had woken up and didn't feel any pain on his body. Looking over to Yume, who had appeared to be knocked out, he saw that she was now bleeding from the minor wounds.

"Yume!" Natalie shrieked in horror and ran over to her, "Yume! Wake up!"

Ryota scoffed, "Serves them right."

The other Yugi scowled as he stood up, "Ryota, was it?"

"Yeah, that's my name!" The leader boasted, "Hey, girly! Those lights are about to go off! We're still doing this remember!"

Natalie heard the other Yugi growl a bit, "She doesn't have to do anythi-" He paused as he felt her hand on his chest. She was glaring harshly at the role-players, "This is my game, Yugi."

Ryota chuckled, "What a stupid girl."

"And not just any game... A shadow game." Natalie proclaimed as the eye of Ra appeared on her forehead. The spirit of the millennium puzzle stood back, _"What the hell is this? She has no millennium item!"_ Then the pendant around his neck had pulsed. He stared down on it and gasped. He knew this had happened before, back when he was being lynched, but how is she getting access to it without his consent? What is she? Who is she?

And then the lights went off...

The other Yugi hadn't kept his eyes off from her. He was still able to see her since she was right next to him. She had sent him a smirk, "This won't take long."

All they could hear was bombs going off from all corners and shouts coming from each individual, "You see, even though Yugi had warned me about the ambush, you go on ahead and cheat your way through anyways." She had stated. What had happened is that she made each of them think that they were targeting her but instead they were too blind to see that they had planted bombs amongst each other.

"How disappointing." Natalie mumbled, "And I actually wanted to play a game." Just then the emergency lighting came on and the group of boys were knocked out unconscious before them. Natalie walked towards Ryota and searched him. All he had was a talisman that hung around his neck. She glared, "How ironic." Standing up with a perplexed expression she had watched as the other Yugi approached her, obviously wondering what had happened that led to this event. Then her eyes landed on his puzzle. How could she be so stupid! Then why did Yume assume this boy had a millennium item? Natalie went to process the information she was given again. She found this to be a perfect time to explain to Yugi what went on here.

"What do you mean by she tricked you?" The spirit asked.

Natalie ran her fingers through her hair out of frustration, "Yume had told me that this teenage boy had recently moved to Domino City. Before that he was constantly moving."

"Oh?"

"But this doesn't make sense seeing that these individuals had more than likely known each other for years and more than likely do this sort of thing on a daily basis!" Natalie explained as she pointed to Ryota, "He's their leader for that matter! A leader takes time to assemble a group."

The spirit seemed to ponder, "You are correct. Perhaps you should talk to Yume."

Natalie grumbled, "If she wasn't injured, I would've crushed her!" She turned back to get Yume but her best friend had been long gone from the scene. Natalie looked around and called her name. The other Yugi had helped but there was no reply or any trace that Yume had been with them. Natalie frowned at Yume's disappearance, "Curious." Was all she had said before following Yugi back to his place.

Yume had limped back to the place she was staying at but stopped to see sirens straight ahead. There someone's house had been set on fire, "So, much misfortune." She had mumbled then looked up to the sky, "I wonder if you are displeased by what had happened today." With that she had continued limping away from the scene.

* * *

The next day...

Natalie had asked Anzu for the day off of teaching duel monsters as she felt a headache coming in. This is what she got when playing a shadow game with an item that didn't belong to her. She didn't know what came over her, it just had happened. She was angry at what happened to Yume and Yugi. Now she was anxious. She wondered if the spirit of the millennium puzzle will now be more suspicious of her. Groaning to herself as she had to endure everything today. People's voices were a pain. This felt like a hangover that she couldn't cure.

"Kokurano-sama is passing by!" A girl shouted, "Open the way!"

Natalie flinched but she kept watching the army of girls passing through the hallway, guarding some boy with them. Luckily, she wasn't the only person confused. Jounouchi was obviously the first person to question the scene, "What is this?"

"You don't know?" Anzu asked as Miho stepped in, "It's the recently-famous boy with supernatural powers."

"He can see into the future and apparently he is very accurate." Anzu informed as Miho pointed at the army (of skanks), "You know how the girls are gone during lunch? They all go to him to get their fortunes told."

Anzu then added, "He was also right about the recent fire at a student's home from class A. He became famous just for that."

Natalie had burst out in laughter but saw that Miho and Anzu weren't laughing, "Oh, sorry, did not realize that had actually happened." She waved the fact that he could not have predicted it anyways. Kokurano had overheard her as he passed the group by. Jounouchi was excited to get his fortune told. Natalie could not help but smile at his enthusiasm as Honda began to argue with him about how as a member of a beautification's role was to look over these fortunes and not an excuse to get their fortune told. The two of them began to drag an unwilling Yugi with them, who began to throw a tantrum about being manhandled.

Anzu looked over at Miho, "Are you going?"

"Miho isn't interested." She chirped, "Miho's future is to obviously marry a prince with a big inheritance."

"Of course it is." Natalie chuckled as Anzu had asked about her views on the fortune telling, "Pfft, Anzu, I've seen real stuff on women's magazines in America." She followed Yugi and the two knuckleheads anyways.

What she didn't expect at the amount of girls in one room. There Kokurano had sat in his own makeshift booth. Jounouchi began to frown as he took note at ratio between men and women in the room. He felt so embarrassed. He had to think of a quick cover up. As he saw Natalie and Anzu enter the room, he took this as a perfect opportunity to say, "I give up, Anzu! Let's get your fortune told!"

"What!?" Anzu's eye twitched, "You're the one who wanted to come here in the first place!"

Natalie watched them in amusement, "You two should get married."

"How could you say that, Idol!?" Anzu questioned as she grown red in the face already. They were then shushed by one of Kokurano's cult member and began to get lectured as to how the fortune teller's concentration is very delicate. Kokurano had held his hand to calm everyone else down and quietly he asked, "Who's the next customer?"

"Kokurano-sama!" A random girl had gone up, "I'm at the dawn of my beauty; will it last long?"

The boy took less than a minute to answer her question, "I see it." He twirled his hand about, "You will remain beautiful till you die!"

The girl squealed in delight at her fortune and Natalie began to laugh, "Oh, man, what a conceited asshole." Unfortunately not many girls in the room agreed to her as they all were too excited at Kokurano's psychic power. Suddenly, the room began to shake and rumble about. Natalie had placed her hands on Yugi's shoulders, which he didn't mind. He was too concerned about the sudden earthquake. And just how it came, it had stopped so suddenly.

"What was that?"

"An earthquake." Jounouchi had answered Natalie, "And it was a pretty big one as well."

One of the cult members went up to the fortune teller, "Kokurano-sama, are you okay?" His only response was a grin and he looked over to the group of misfits and pointed at Jounouchi, "Hey you!" He called out, "A while ago, you thought, 'I want to get my fortune told,' right?"

Jounouchi just stared at him questionably as Kokurano continued, "However, I am no ordinary 'fortune-teller'!" He looked over at Natalie and Yugi as well, "You all must be thinking of the typical fortune-telling methods like palm-reading, study of patterns, Chinese and _western astrology_," that was emphasized for Natalie, "Feng Shui, and such! But in the past, these were only effective because they relied on statistics... I see clear and true visions of the future, using my psychic ability!"

Natalie narrowed her eyes, "Statistics? You mean pseudoscience."

"Exactly my point." Kokurano answered, "My abilities don't follow that. They are based on real visions. Though, my words cannot truly convey this truth..." He reached into his cloak to pull out a piece of paper, "This will prove it," He gave the paper to Jounouchi and Natalie had to tip-toe to see over his shoulder, "This morning, I wrote out one of my visions on this slip of paper. Go on, read it for everyone to hear."

Jounouchi then read, "Today, an earthquake will come."

Natalie rolled her eyes, "What a load of-" Though, her sentence didn't make it as it was drowned out by the sound of clapping and cheering from the other girls in the room. All Natalie could do was pout as she crossed her arms and stood back from the crowd, "There is no point in arguing with ignorance."

Yugi had heard her comment and he couldn't have agree. Just as he was about to join her and walk away, Anzu's voice had caught his attention, "Weeeell," She drawled out, "I guess I'll give it a try..."

"Please, do so." Kokurano held his hands out for Anzu. He had rubbed her hands in a creepy fashion that made Natalie groan out, "Didn't he just say that he doesn't do that palm-reading crap?" Then it hit her as she taken note at the amount of girls who are drawn to Kokurano. He wasn't an attractive boy so he must be using this stupid stuff that women will most likely read on magazines to his advantage of being close to women. Natalie let out a disgusted expression. Yugi on the other hand felt a bit uncomfortable as he watched Kokurano rub his hands around Anzu's.

The spirit of the millennium puzzle did not understand Yugi at all. Though, he supposed it be better if they didn't see Natalie in that situation. He had used the little shadow he could muster out of Yugi just to appear near Natalie.

_"You don't seem to be having a good time."_

His voice had startled her in which he chuckled at her actions. She hissed at him, "Would you quit that?"

_"I apologize, I only want to keep you company."_ He replied with a half-smile and her shoulders relaxed, "I don't suppose you're going to take over and challenge this boy to a game?"

The spirit rolled his eyes, _"I don't have the tolerance to do so. I'll let Yugi handle it from here."_

Suddenly, Kokurano's outburst startled them both. The spirit had retreated, leaving Natalie in a daze as to what had happened.

"Hark! Soon, a wonderful man will reveal himself to you!" Kokurano stared at Anzu longingly, "You will surrender your body and soul to him!"

Natalie had begun to get grossed out and she didn't know what made her feel worse. The fact that Kokurano is full of it or that Anzu actually believes him. Poor girl.. It's like Anzu had already an idea who this prince in shining armor is. As Anzu had walked away from the boy with the supposed supernatural powers, Jounouchi went up to him with an exciting look on his face. Kokurano was of course disappointed that there wasn't a female in front of him so he just said, "Hmm... You are cursed."

Jounouchi frowned, "Yes, I already know that."

Kokurano sighed, "Okay, I did have some sort of vision that revolved around you... Be wary of light coming at you."

Jounouchi didn't know how to take that so he continued to press on but Kokurano was getting impatient and called for his next customer. Right then and there his eyes locked with Natalie, "Ah, Idol-chan, would you like to get your fortune told?"

"Eh..." Her eyebrow twitched a bit glad he hadn't said her actual name, "No, thank you."

Yugi didn't know what came over him but he knew he didn't want Natalie to go through that same awful treatment. He stepped in front of her and called Kokurano out, "I think this is a scam." He stated while surprising Natalie in the process, "I mean you might have psychic powers..." He began to fall back to his timid self, "but I guess I'm just skeptical..."

The cult member with long hair marched over to Yugi and basically towered over him, "What are you saying? You doubt Kokurano-sama's power?"

Kokurano smirked, "Are you saying that my power is faulty, Yugi?"

Natalie was getting a bit ticked off as she watched them push Yugi around but she trusted the spirit of the millennium puzzle. Yugi swallowed and stepped up again, "That's exactly what I'm saying. I've seen similar tricks before."

"Oh?"

"For example, you might have several predictions written down and hidden under your clothes, and you when the earthquake hit, you just chose the right one!" Yugi explained and that made Natalie smile to herself and nod in approval, "Heh, got 'em."

Kokurano then began to convulse, "Ohhhhhh!" He stopped to scowl and point at Yugi, "I see it now!" He shouted dramatically, "I see your future, Mutou! Countless words from heaven will pour down on you! I see calamity and destruction for you!"

Natalie gritted her teeth and pushed Yugi out of the way, "Hey you don't have to be a dick about it!" Kokurano just stared at her, he had not expected her to react this way, "Besides that sounds more like a threat than a fortune!"

"Eh? Would it make you feel better if you hear yours?" He motioned for her to come closer and Natalie kept her hands to herself, "Um, no."

"But I've seen your fortune since the day had started. I had kept it with me till I saw your pretty face." Before Natalie can retort to that, Kokurano held his hand for her to pause and reached for another note, "In places you don't know, from the shadows, there is a man watching over you."

Natalie scoffed as she crossed her arms, "Creepy and tell me about it." She looked down at Yugi's shadow. Yugi had caught her eye and she looked away from him while feeling a little heat rise up within her.

"I predict that you will come to me for more details." Kokurano purred at her and Natalie shook her head at him, "Today, at six in the science lab, your man will be there."

Natalie then realized that Kokurano would most likely be there and so she smirked. Better to get rid of the infestation while nobody is watching, "Okay, _Kokurano-sama_, I agree with your prediction."

"Oh?" He had not expect that.

"I'll be there." Natalie promised.

Yugi just stared at her in shock with her change in attitude. Wasn't she against Kokurano like five minutes ago? Why would she agree with this? Yugi looked down in disappointment. Then he shook his head. No, it just had to be a fraud. He had to stop Natalie from going through with this. There couldn't be a guy there waiting for her. Ridiculous.

He had stopped walking as he realized at the amount of anger he had been holding. Why does he suddenly feel this way? When he saw Anzu being touched by Kokurano, it wasn't much. Sure he felt a bit weirded out but if it had been Natalie... His mind had imagined her in that same spot and it had made him grow angrier. _"What is this feeling?"_ He thought to himself. He didn't realize the day had gone by and he was now with Jounouchi and Honda in their Judo clothes. The more he thought about a man watching over Natalie, the more tension he felt. Was he jealous?

That question went out the window as Jounouchi landed on him. The air he had within him had gone away. It was almost as bad as when Natalie had punched him, "Jounouchi, I can't breathe!"

"I am invincible!" Honda had flexed right above them.

Natalie had skipped out on gym, every chance she got. Not that she hated athleticism. For her, it was a necessity to keep her health up and going. That and the fact she needed to stay in shape in case she had to ever run into trouble again. And that is everyday. Natalie had been shadow boxing on the rooftop in her gym clothes. She had paused to see someone lurking about on the same rooftop, "Speaking of trouble." She muttered as she followed the boy who had entered the door that led to the lighting maintenance. She watched from afar as this random student toyed with the light above the judo class.

"Strange, only administrative should do that. Is this some sort of thing that the Japanese do?" Natalie questioned herself and then shook her head, "If so, he can't be doing that when there's a class going on-"

Suddenly, the student had dropped one of the lights that was right above...

"Jounouchi!" She cried out from the rails. Luckily, he had heard her just to move out of the way in time. Though, some glass shards had hit his skin but nothing too serious. Natalie growled at the boy who had made a run for it. She sprinted off to just to catch him by the other exit to the rooftop. She had elbowed his chest and pinned him to the wall, "What was that?" She questioned, "You almost hurt someone!"

"I-I-I was paid to d-d-o it." He stuttered, "Please, don't tell on me."

Natalie only stared in confusion and pressed her elbow, "Who paid you and I won't say a word."

"K-kokurano-sama!"

The girl had let go of his elbow and he sprinted to get away from the school grounds. She looked back at the maintenance door and scampered off to the opposite direction. Natalie had to recall the many predictions that Kokurano had said earlier that may cause another accident to happen. Anzu's prediction was that some guy will reveal himself to her, which could mean that Kokurano would probably do some sick perverted thing. Though, he hadn't done that yet, Natalie had assumed judging by the dreamlike look Anzu had been portraying all day. She had wondered what kind of man Anzu had been waiting for? Was it Yugi?

Natalie had sat back on the seat bench that she was sharing with Jounouchi. Since Jounouchi had been excused to go home after the freak accident, Natalie had decided to keep him company till the bus arrives. Although Jounouchi had told her that he'd be fine by himself, she hadn't made a move to leave. She didn't want to be alone. At least not at the moment anyways. She knew that Yugi would most likely be with Anzu at this time so she spared herself the time and enjoyed Jounouchi's ramblings about the stupid prediction. Wait.. Prediction. She checked the time as it was close to five forty five in the afternoon. Natalie had jumped out of the seat and Jounouchi gave her a weird look, "Sorry, I gotta go!"

"Um, okay." Was all he could say.

Yugi had been walking the halls after class. Anzu had invited him to go window shopping since she had a day off at work today. He should be happy but at the moment he wanted to check up on Natalie. He stopped walking and frowned at the floor below him. It shouldn't be none of his business anyways... If Natalie falls for someone else, then shouldn't he be happy?

"I exposed Kokurano's trick because I was jealous... I broke the game's rule." He began to walk away from the hall that led to the science lab, "I hate myself." Then in the midst of his self-loathing, he spotted a book planted on the ground. He picked it up wondering what it was doing laying about on the floor. Nonetheless, he went about to put it back in the book room.

Anzu had frowned, "Yugi is running late, what's taking him?" Then she spotted Natalie running about, "Idol? Have you seen Yugi?"

"He's probably at the game shop! I don't know! I gotta go!"

Anzu frowned at her back, "What's with her?"

Natalie had barged into the designated room with a mindset of most American action heroes she used to watch as a child. The room appeared empty, though. She huffed, "Where can he be?" She walked around looking around, the sun was close to setting. _Countless words._

"Natalie is your actual name." Kokurano's voice filled the room, "Who are you waiting for?"

She had glared at him as he continued to approach her, "What have you done to Yugi?" She questioned him. Kokurano smirked, "What ever do you mean?"

"You paid a student to drop that light and I assume you did something to Yugi as well." Natalie growled as she grabbed his collar, "Tell me what you've done to him!"

Kokurano began to chuckle, "I can't ever get around a smart girl like you." He grabbed her wrists, "Which is why I prepared for his moment ahead of time." He pushed her hands away with one hand and with the other he had shoved a soaked cloth right in her face, covering the nose and mouth.

_"What the fu-?"_ Natalie held whatever breath she had in her, which isn't much, and tried to move her head away. Though, he had a hold on her face and the chloroform began to irritate her skin. Her hands tried to pry his off but it wasn't working as he began to pin her down. The next possible thing to do to get this cloth away from her is to play dead. She stopped resisting and applied her body weight towards the ground.

Kokurano had let go of her and sat up a bit. His lower half was still above her and he began to laugh, "No woman can resist my power!" He looked down to stare everywhere else aside from her face hungrily, "As long as I have super psychic powers, everything will go as I desire!" He didn't know where to begin but his hands began to trail up her sides, "Natalie, you will love me forever!"

"Don't count on it." The other Yugi had enough watching. He glared down at Kokurano intimidatingly, "Get your hands off of her before I rip them apart."

Kokurano had froze in his spot, "Yugi! How are you still alive!?"

Natalie's fists clenched and she growled, "He means get off of me now, numbnuts!" She began to pound on him, "Seriously! Get off now!"

"Unfortunately, your prediction has failed, Kokurano!" The spirit had walked further into the room, "All this just so you can take advantage of girls."

Natalie had backed away trying to rub off any access chloroform that lingered on her skin. She expected everything else but chloroform... To think if she had actually breathed most of it in and if Yugi hadn't shown up. She shivered. Disgusted.

"All your predictions are fake, Kokurano, the fire and the light in the gym." The other Yugi sneered, "Just to pretend to have super powers."

Kokurano glared, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The spirit began to loose his patience. No. It had been long gone before any of this had started happening. He was pissed, "If you want to play dumb, fine, but just so you know... It's game time."

"To challenge someone who has supernatural powers like me...? You have guts!"

"If you defeat me, then I shall acknowledge you as a psychic." The spirit looked over to Natalie and reached for her face. She stopped him from touching it, "Not yet, it still burns." She informed him and she pointed to the bottle on the floor, "Watch out for that."

He smirked at her, "It shall be my tool." He went over to pick the bottle up, "I assume this is yours?" He looked over to Kokurano, "We shall use this object of your prediction in our game."

The next thing the other Yugi did was place some papers on top of a desk and the bottle on top of those. As he explained the rules, Natalie had gave them some space and went to treat the burn on her face. She realized her nose had been bleeding, "Must have been another result from the irritation..?" Then she began to cough silently.

The spirit of the millennium puzzle grabbed the top sheet of paper and swiftly pulled it away. The bottle of chloroform had wobbled around and stood close to the edge of the table. _"That was close."_ the other Yugi had thought as he waited for Kokurano perform his turn.

"Hmm..." Kokurano pretended to meditate, "I don't see falling in the bottle's immediate future." He claimed as he grabbed onto the next sheet and pulled. The bottle wobbled again, getting closer to the edge, "Aha! Another example of my power!"

"You've put me in a tight spot." The spirit proclaimed but he couldn't stop now. He had to finish this so that he can help Natalie. He walked towards the table and grabbed the paper to pull, "Game on!" The bottle tipped and unsteadily moved right on the edge of the table. The bottom half of the bottle wasn't on the table anymore. Kokurano began to shake.

The other Yugi began to chuckle, "What will you do now? It's impossible to pull the paper and not lose!" He enjoyed this bit as Kokurano's face began to fill with anxiety, "There is only one more sheet under this one... If you are really a psychic," The spirit pressed on, "You should be able to lift up the bottle up off the paper with your mind."

Something clicked within Kokurano as Natalie watched curiously, "Y-you're right! I see it now! I shall use my power!" Kokurano stepped closer to the bottle and stared it down with determination. Natalie was pretty sure whatever is going on in Kokurano's head is much different as to what is happening in front of them. She could laugh but this was even more pathetic. She walked by Yugi and place her hand in his, already knowing that he had won.

Kokurano began to laugh hysterically, "Behold!" He stared at them with a manic grin, "My power! It is making it float in the air!"

"That is only a delusion," The spirit informed as the bottle was still on the table, "But if you truly believe, then by all means..."

"Hahaha... You're a fool, Yugi!" Kokurano began to boast, "I am a psychic and everything shall belong to me!" With that he removed the paper and the chloroform bottle landed right below him, spraying the evaporated gas right up his nose and burning his eyes.

"Within his delusions, he could be anyone, so he became a psychic... It takes courage to know your own bounds. You never had that courage right until the end." The spirit mumbled as he watched Natalie poke Kokurano's sleeping body.

"What a pitiful soul." Natalie muttered, "All the predictions under his cloak, by the time the morning comes everyone will know." Natalie had stood up and the other Yugi caught the sight of what was dripping out of her nose.

"Natalie!" He walked towards her to clean it off, "Why are you bleeding?"

She felt a little embarrassed as she backed off, "My nose is probably still irritated and now what did he do to you?"

"What do you mean?" He stared at her in confusion.

"Countless words?"

"Oh..." He stared down at the back of his hand, "It's nothing."

Natalie began to laugh despite the situation. The spirit watched her in amusement, "What could possibly be funny?"

"Oh, this..." She motioned to their injuries and to Kokurano, "As sick as this sounds, I am starting to enjoy these type of occasions with you." She looked to the blend of crimson and amethyst set of eyes and finally her lips broke out into an actual, legitimate smile, "This has become a norm for me and I don't know... I just like being around you."

The other Yugi smiled as well as he traced her jawline, "I feel the same way, Nat." She began to blush at the use of her name, "I wish to be with you as whatever you want me to be. As Yugi. As the spirit of the millennium puzzle. Whatever you wish."

Her eyes widened as she felt her heart pound within her chest... She was so confused. Throughout the time she had known him, she had grown to care for the boy she looked after. Yugi had been her friend and if she wanted to, perhaps she would want more but it didn't make sense.. None of it. She knew the man in front of her is not Yugi but only wanting to be just for the sake of existing. Is it fair for the boy she truly cares about? So, what's the deal? Why does she feel this way? Can it be that she had been falling for the spirit of the millennium puzzle this whole time?

"Um..." She tried to speak, "We should treat our wounds."

The spirit blinked as he looked at the back of his bruised hand, "Okay." He then walked alongside her as they made their way out of the school building. He then felt like if he forgot something...

"Hey, Nat."

She looked to him.

"We haven't played our game."

She stopped walking and turned to the moon that lit the sky above them.

"I think... We are already playing one."

* * *

**AN:**

Oh, hai~

So I've finally found a good website that I can finally watch yugioh japanese dubs with subs n stuff... Now I can finally fall in love with Jounouchi! I mean appreciate him... Same difference- Whatever. I have made the update right before May is over... Which means... I'll see you all in July! Hahhahahaha I kid. No, I'll be putting out the next chapter sometime next month. Thanks to those who recently liked, favorited, subscribed, I don't know what it is here to this story! Enjoy the ride. Death-T is around the corner and so is... The end ._.

Wanted to do some experimenting on Natalie's part. Apologies if the beginning was a bit of a drag. The Assassin Game (TAG) is an actual game but not as extreme as I make it out to be in the story lol but also not as lame. LARP people aren't lame either. Nope.

[Short non-existent scene]

Yugi felt her eyes on him as he played against his grandfather in a game of Go. He wasn't bothered by it but after a while he began to feel a little self-conscious. After losing to his grandfather, he shyly looked over to Natalie who had been watching the game the whole time.

"Is something on your mind?" He asked her.

She didn't reply to him but she got close enough to where he could feel her breath graze upon his face. He began to blush as her hands reached up to his hair. He wasn't sure what she was doing nor he knew how to react. She had grabbed on either side of his head a blonde strand and picked them up. Then put them down. Then picked them up.

"What are you doing?"

She giggled, "Other Yugi."

Then she brought down the blonde hair, "Normal Yugi."

Up, "Other Yugi."

Down, "Normal Yugi."

"Stop it!"

"Transform dammit!"


End file.
